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[ftb the Compliments of the Hutbor 



Mexico 

Today and Tomorrow 

All Outline of the Present Earni7ig Power 

and Future Possibilities of Her 

Railroad Systems 




Facts, Figures and Suggestions Regarding the Principal 
Traffic Producing Centers 

By Ralph Waterrnan Vincent 

Of the Staff of The New York News Bureau 

1906 



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MA" T 1 909 



Introduction and Addenda. 

These letters were published originally in the daily bul- 
letins of the New York News Bureau Association and in 
the "The Wall Street Summary." Upon my return from 
Mexico indulgent readers of the letters suggested that they 
be revised and published in pamphlet form for distribution 
In the interest of Mexico. I acted on the suggestion and 
here is the result. The letters are in their original form, ex- 
cept for typographical corrections and changes, and the il- 
lustrations intended to give a more concrete general idea of 
the principal cities and sections of country mentioned. 
Neither fine writing nor a description of Mexico has been 
attempted. On the contrary many of the letters were hasti- 
ly prepared on railroad trains, and under other equally un- 
favorable conditions. My one idea was, not to describe the 
beauties of Mexico or the attractiveness of her people, great 
as both are, but simply to emphasize the fact that the rail- 
roads of Mexico are operated in a country in which there 
are numerous large cities and towns, which in turn supply 
the railroads with vast amounts of valuable traffic. 

Since the letters were prepared, many of the predictions 
which they contain, have been realized. For instance, the 
earnings of the railroads have increased at a greater rate 
than was expected. The traffic of the Mexican Central 
has expanded so rapidly since September last, that addi- 
tional equipment is needed. Some has been ordered al- 
ready, although at that time the officials thought they could 
get along for many months with what they had. The new 
monetary system is working out even better than was 
hoped. Silver is higher than at any previous time in the 
last five years and Mexican dollars have sold above par 
for the first time in several years. This price is in contrast 
with 37 cents three years ago, previous to the decision of 
the Mexican Government to consider a new monetary sys- 
tem. This wonderful change for the better is of vast im- 
portance to the railroads of Mexico, which earn a silver 
dollar but pay about 40 per cent, of their operating ex- 
pense on the basis of gold. Mexico is rapidly getting on 
a complete gold basis. Silver dollars held in the vaults 
are being exchanged for gold, and recently President Diaz 



issued a decree providing for the issuance of gold certifi- 
cates. 

The Mexican Central management is making rapid 
progress with its plans to equip all of the company's lo- 
motives for the use of oil as fuel, and also^ with the con- 
struction of the Pacific Coast extension to Manzanillo. The 
struction of the new Tampico short line will be begun 
sooner than was generally expected. It is not unlikely 
that this will be one of the most eventful years in the his- 
tory of the company thus far. 

The trade between the United States and Mexico is 
steadily increasing. The latest official statistics made 
public show that, of the total exports from Mexico for a 
single month, of $21,067,221, the United States took $14,- 
852,738. For the same month the United States con- 
tributed $6,251,275 of the $12,183,750 products imported 
into Mexico. In other ways the business relations between 
the two countries are growing closer daily. As this pam- 
phlet goes to press there are several prominent Mexicans 
in New York seeking American capital for meritorious en- 
terprises, and Americans have gone to Mexico to increase 
their investments or make them for the first time. 

Finally, in considering the future of Mexico it should not 
be forgotten that Senor Don Porfirio Diaz is still presi- 
dent of that Republic and that he is likely to hold that of- 
fice for many years to come. Although since these letters 
were originally written the "Great Man of Mexico" has 
celebrated his 75th birthday, he is still hale and hearty 
and there is nothing to indicate that, in the ordinary course 
of events, he will not be able to at least serve out his pres- 
ent term. If that proves' to be the happy reality, Mexico 
will have even a greater degree of peace and prosperity than 
she has enjoyed during the Diaz administration thus far. 

Grateful acknowledgement is made herewith of the 
courtesies extended by officials of the Mexican Govern- 
ment, the railroads and banks of the Republic, which made 
it possible for me to present the information and illustra- 
tions contained in this pamphlet. 

RALPH WATERMAN VINCENT. 

New York, February, 1906. 

6 




HIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT DIAZ. 



IVlCXlCOt Today and Tomorrow 

T^ L PASO, Tex., Aug. 19. — We have now travelled 
nearly 2,600 miles from New York city through a 
land of plenty. Prosperity everywhere abounds in the 
States in which the soil is freely cultivated. Even the 
grazing sections of Colorado and New Mexico, which peo- 
ple in the East who have never seen the Far West are ac- 
customed to regard as deserts, are in a flourishing condi- 
tion. Abundant rains have supplied food and water for 
the cattle and they are as sleek as those seen in the pastures 
in New York State. 

But your readers are supposed to be familiar, in a gen- 
eral way at least, with conditions in the United States. 
They are well supplied with Government and private data 
regarding growing crops, the products of the mines, the 
extent of the manufacturing industries, the earnings of the 
railroads, etc., etc. Although they read just before I left 
New York the latest Government statistics and estimates, 
which indicated a record corn crop, if they could only ride 
through the thousands of acres of corn in Ohio, Indiana, 
Illinois, Missouri and Kansas as I did the past week, they 
would have a much more concrete idea of the great pros- 
perity prevailing in the agricultural sections of our coun- 
try. 

My trip, however, is not for the purpose of telling your 
readers about a country regarding which they are sup- 
posed to have full knowledge, but about Mexico, a country 
regarding which the busy people of New York city have 
only inadequate ideas, unless they have been so fortunate 
as to travel through that Republic. It is my purpose to 
give some up-to-date information regarding the business 
that is being done in the principal cities reached by the 
Mexican Central and the National Railroad Company of 
Mexico, the two great railroad systems of Mexico. When 
this proposed series of articles is completed I hope that the 
people who are daily trading in the securities of these 
two companies will have a better idea of the position of the 
properties, their value and possibilities. 



I know that there are busy men in New York who never 
have had the time to study Mexico, who assume that the 
lines of these railroads are so many streaks of rust through 
a desert. In order to dispel this delusion, I will give you 
a few general statistics regarding- Mexico, before taking 
up the great centres of population in detail. The following 
figures should suffice for this purpose. While the Mexican 
Central and the National Railroad are the two principal sys- 
tems, Mexico has many other smaller roads, the aggregate 
mileage of which is considerable. I will confine myself, 
however, to the two big systems in the following statistics. 
Here they are for the last fiscal year : 

Mileage. Gross earnings. Net earnmgs. 
Mexican Central. .. . 3,500 $26,097,699 $8,498,523 

National Railroad... 3,400 23,170,000 7,926,000 

The following figures give some idea of the value of 
Mexico's crops, output of mines and banking operations for 
a single year: 

Mex. currency. U. S. currency. 

Corn $75,000,000 $37,500,000 

Sugar cane products 28,000,000 14,000,000 

Wheat 19,000,000 9,500,000 

Cotton 18,000,000 9,000,000 

Henequen 17,000,000 8,500,000 

Sugar cane drinking mat.... 17,000,000 8,500,000 

Beans 12,000,000 • 6,000,000 

Barley 7,000,000 3,500,000 

Tobacco 6,000,000 3,000,000 

Oak trees, cut 4,000,000 2,000,000 

Mesquit wood 2,000,000 1,000,000 

Silver mines 100,000,000 50,000,000 

Copper mines 14,000,000 7,000,000 

Gold mines 10,000,000 

Bank capital 120,600,000 60,300,000 

Bank deposits 282,000,000 141,000,000 

Bank loans 240,000,000 120,000,000 

Bank surpluses 27,800,000 13,900,000 

The above figures represent average values for several 
years back. In the cases of some crops the yield for single 
years has been much larger. For instance, the value of the 
henequen crop, which I have given as $17,000,000 Mexican 

10 



currency, was worth $33,000,000 for a recent year, or nearly 
double the average. I learn from competent sources that 
this year's corn crop in Mexico will be large and that cot- 
ton promises remarkably well. The wheat crop in some 
States, Chihuahua for instance, was good. In other States 
it was not quite so good. 

The figures for this year's crops are not obtainable, sim- 
ply because many of the crops have not been harvested. 
The figures given in the above table are for the past. 
Mexico is to develop wonderfully agriculturally. In facl, 
it is evident that the greatest development in the Republic 
is to be along this line. I will speak more in detail of this 
matter in subsequent letters. The value of Mexico's crops 
a- few years hence will be represented by much larger fig- 
ures than those appearing in my table. 

It is plainly to be seen that this will mean a great ex- 
pansion in the earnings of the railroads of the Republic, 
particularly of those of the two great systems, as they 
command the gateways of the country and serve all the 
cities and large towns. The mines of Mexico are by no 
means worked out. Here at El Paso nearly all the pas- 
sengers for to-day's south bound train on the Mexican 
Central are men interested in mining in Mexico. Several 
of them are going into the country for the first time to in- 
spect mining propositions. 

Mexico's Principal Railroad Gateway. 
Tf L PASO, Tex., Aug. 21.— This city is the northern 
terminus of the Mexican Central Railway system. It 
is one of the greatest gateways of the Republic, in fact, the 
greatest land gateway. El Paso is the most important rail- 
road centre in the far southwest. The city is served by 
eight railroads, among which are the Southern Pacific, 
Atchison, Rock Island, Texas & Pacific and Mexican Cen- 
tral. The other lines are smaller. 

A glance at a general railroad map will show the vast 
territory which these large systems, with their numerous 
connections, serve. Take the Southern Pacific, whose 
western Hne comes direct from California to El Paso. Over 
this route, of course, a vast amount of fruit is brought from 
California and not a little of it finds its way into northern 

II 



Mexico over the Mexican Central. It sliould have been 
stated at the outset that the Mexican Central is the only 
through line running south in Mexico from El Paso. The 
latter road carries a large number of passengers from Cali- 
fornia all through Mexico. Several persons from Los 
Angeles are going down on today's train. The eastern line 
of the Southern Pacific runs the entire hngth of Texas from 
El Paso to New Orleans, where, of course, it has important 
water connections. The Mexican Central receives traffic 
from this direction also.. 

Then take the Atchison and Rock Island with all their 
ramified branches in the West, reaching, as the Rock Island 
does, to Minneapolis and St. Paul on the north, and as 
both do, to San Francisco on the west and Chicago on the 
east, where they have valuable direct connections with all 
easternr points. The Texas &■ Pacific is the great "All 
Texas;route," which, by thd way,^ is the company's principal 
characterisation of its road. -El Paso, as you know, is at the 
extreme western end of Texas, and the Texas & Pacific 
goes all the way across the State, east to New Orleans. 
The smaller roads, such, for instance, as the El Paso & 
Northeastern, which Phelps, Dodge & Company,, of New 
York, recently bought, give El Paso a lai-ge additional 
amount of traffic. From this rough outline it is apparent 
that the Mexican Central has as' its northern starting 
point, a great railroad clearing house, and as it is the only 
important Mexican railroad starting from this point, it is 
certain to receive a vast amount of traffic for transmission 
throughout Mexico. 

But El Paso has industries of her own and a large 
amount of traffic originates here, and the Mexican Central 
also brings from Mexico many thousand of tons of ore for 
treatment at the El Paso smelter of the American Smelting 
& Refining Company. This, by the way, is one of the com- 
pany's largest smelters. 

The population of El Paso is about 20,000. In addition 
to the large smelters there are in, or near, the city a foun- 
dry, and machine shop, extract works, a tannery and other 
minor industries. Grapes are produced in large quantities 
in this vicinity and large quantities of grapes and wine 
are shipped through El Paso. Grains and vegetables are 
freely cultivated and silver, gold, lead and iron are mined 

13 



in the vicinity of this city. El Paso is also a famous resort 
for people suffering from tubercular trouble. 

It is altogether evident that the projectors of the Mexi- 
can Central made no mistake in selecting El Paso as the 
northern terminus of the system. C. F. Berna, the com- 
pany's commercial agent here, tells me that the outlook is 
bright for a satisfactory business on the Mexican Central 
this Autumn. 

It is well to remember that not only does the Mexican 
Central have a good beginning on the north, but that the 
main line ends at a no less important point than the City 
of Mexico, the capital of the republic, with a population 
in excess of 400,000. The system also comprises many im- 
portant branches. Subsequent letters will deal with the 
principal intermediate cities and towns on the main line 
and with those on the branches as well. 

The next letter will tell about Chihuahua, the capital of 
of a State by that name, which has an area of about 90,000 
square miles, an area larger than that of all New England. 
It is the largest State in Mexico. 

Chihuahua and Its Enterprises. 

f^ HIHUAHUA, Mex., Aug. 22.— Leaving El Paso on the 
American side and Juarez on the Mexican side, this 
is the first large city on the Mexican Central as you go 
south on that road. Several of the intermediate stations, 
however, are important distributing centres for large sec- 
tions of country, both east and west, and this means a big 
traffic for the Mexican Central at these points. 

For nearly 100 miles between El Paso and Chihuahua 
the railroad runs through one of the many ranches of Gen- 
eral Luis Terrazas, who is the largest land owner in the 
entire republic, his holdings being estimated at between 
2,000,000 and 3,000,000 acres. He owns between 200,000 
and 300,000 cattle and last year he branded 55,000 calves 
and this year expects to brand 65,000. The shipping of 
cattle from his ranches alone is a big item in the freight 
traffic of the Mexican Central. 

Chihuahua is a city of about 35,000 inhabitants, and, 
as I said in my last letter, it is the capital of a state by 
that name about the size of all the territory in the United 

IS 



States east of the Hudson River. Here are the homes of 
General Terrazas and his son-in-law, Enrique C. Creel, 
who is well known in New York as one of Mexico's great- 
est financiers and business men. 

This city is thoroughly modern and American in very 
many respects. Its upbuilding is due more to the enter- 
prise and capital of General Terrazas and Mr. Creel than 
to anyone else. With the exception of Mexico City, Chi- 
huahua is in many respects the most important city in 
Mexico and is in the most important state in many ways 
in the whole republic. Not only has the city of Chihuahua 
numerous profitable enterprises within its own limits 
which give the Mexican Central many thousand tons of 
traffic regularly, but it is a great distributing point for a 
vast territory lying to the westward. 

The population of the State of Chihuahua is about 327,- 
OGO, of which 200,000 persons are located west of the city, 
and in it they do all their banking business, buy all their 
materials and supplies, and through it do all their business 
with the outside world. The Mexican Central handles all 
of the latter traffic — both in and out of Chihuahua. 

The following figures will give some idea of the busi- 
ness that is done annually in and through the city of Chi- 
huahua. The principal industry is an iron and steel plant, 
located alongside the Mexican Central tracks and which 
is controlled by General Terrazas and Mr. Creel. This 
plant gives the Central A large amount of traffic. A big 
brewery, controlled by the same interests, is also a nota- 
ble factor in the Mexican Central's traffic at this point. 
There are also a good sized macaroni plant, an overalls 
factory, a broom factory, and several smaller industries. 

Mr. Creel tells me that, the value of the products pass- 
ing in and out of Chihuahua in a year in connection with 
these various industries is about $6,000,000 Mexican cur- 
rency, or $3,000,000 gold. The value of the cattle and 
flour passing through the city as a distributing point 
amounts to $6,000,000 more Mexican currency, a total of 
$12,000,000 for this city alone. The ores mined in the 
State each year are valued at $12,000,000, a good part of 
which are shipped through this city. 

Chihuahua has five banks, with an aggregate capital of 
$7,500,000. The combined deposits of these institutions 

16 



amount to $5,500,000; the loans to $12,000,000, and the 
surplus to $1,800,000. The largest of these banks is the 
Banco Minero, or the Aliners' Bank, of which Enrique C. 
Creel is president. This bank has a capital of $5,000,- 
000 and surplus and undivided profits of $1,259,925, 
and does a big business with the miners west of the city. It 
is a modern institution in every respect. One of the large 
mines west of here is that of the Batopilas Mining Co., the 
general manager of which is L. N. Stevens, No. 45 Broad- 
way, New York, who has long been closely identified with 
enterprises in Mexico. 

The eastern terminus of the Chihuahua & Pacific Rail- 
road is here. This road is controlled by Grant B. Schley, 
of New York, and others, and extends westward 125 miles 
to Minaca, with an important branch northward, recently 
opened for traffic. It is the chief feeder of the Mexican 
Central in this section, and is to form a part of the Kansas 
City, Mexico & Orient Railroad, which A. E. Stilwell is 
building from Kansas City to Topolobampo Bay on the 
Pacific Coast of Mexico. I called on Mr. Stilwell in Kan- 
sas City this week and he tells me that soon he expects to 
have 250 miles of his road in operation in Mexico and 
about the same amount in the United States. The com- 
pletion of this road by sections west of Chihuahua will 
open up rich mining, agricultural and timber sections and 
will greatly increase the traffic of the Mexican Central at 
Chihuahua. In the meantime the latter company is hauling 
a large amount of material for the construction of the Ori- 
ent road in Mexico. 

It is not necessary to say more to show the value to the 
Mexican Central of the City of Chihuahua. Before stop- 
ping I must add that the city is well paved, lighted with 
electricity and has an American population of about 700 
souls. It is currently reported here that J. W. Conger, a 
brother of E. H. Conger, for a short time Ambassador to 
Mexico, has obtained an option on the local street car sys- 
tem and electric light and power plant and that he pro- 
poses to establish a thoroughly modern trolley system for 
Chihuahua and vicinity. If this is accomplished the city 
will develop even more rapidly than heretofore and, of 
course, all these things will mean larger earnings for the 
Mexican Central. 

17 




L 



In my next two letters I expect to give interviews with 
Fnrique C. Creel and General Snyman, the Boer general 
who has established a flourishing colony for his people 
-near Ortiz, about 50 miles south of here on the Mexican 
Central. 

Enrique C. Creel on Mexico. 
^ HIHUAHUA, Mex, Aug. 23.— Today I had the honor 
and pleasure of a personal interview at the State 
Capitol, or Palace, as it is called in Mexico, with Enrique C. 
Creel, Governor of the large and important State of Chi- 
huahua, president of the Banco Minero of this city, the 
Banco Central of Mexico City, and actively identified with 
numerous other enterprises here and at other well known 
centres in the Republic. 

Mr. Creel said that matters are moving along smoothly 
in Mexico and that the business of the country is steadily 
expanding. While he does not look for a boom in this 
country as a result of the establishment of the new mone- 
tary system a few months ago, he does look for a gradual 
and permanent growth. Neither Mr. Creel nor any one 
else who has the interests of Mexico at heart wishes a 
boom in the business of Mexico. 

The Governor is a wonderful student of affairs, not only 
in Mexico, but throughout the world as well. He is greatly 
interested in the railroads of the Republic, as he realizes 
that they will be, as they ever have been, highly important 
factors m the development of the country. Mr Creel is 
specially interested in the Mexican Central, as Chihuahua, 
his home city, is on the main line, and also as he is a stock- 
holder and director in the company. 

He is an ardent believer in the future of this company 
and IS deeply interested in the plans of the directors and 
ofhcers to develop the system by the construction of feeders. 
Mr. Creel is confident that the route of the main line of the 
Mexican Central .was well selected and that now the two 
important steps are a recasting, to some extent, of the 
company's finances and the building of contributing lines. 

In this connection he pointed out that, at present there 
are important centres in Mexico east and west of the main 
hnes of the two principal railroad systems that need to be 

19 



.^" 



developed by the construction of arms to the main stems. 
He says that the Manzanillo line to the Pacific Coast, work 
on which has actually been begun, will open a wonderfully 
rich section on and near the Pacific Coast. 

In the opinion of Mr. Creel the proposed Mexican Cen- 
tral short line from Tampico to Mexico City will be second 
in importance only to the Manzanillo branch in the de- 
velopment of the railroad and of Mexico. He fully realizes 
that the accomplishment of all this work will greatly in- 
crease the earnings of the company. 

Mr. Creel is much interested also in the plans of the 
Mexican Central management to introduce the use of oil 
as fuel on the company's locomotives. He points out that 
this will not only result in a great saving to the company 
in its fuel bill, but will also aid in materially developing 
the section of Mexico in the vicinity of Tampico, in which 
large quantities of oil have been discovered, and from which 
section the company will get its supply. 

Mr. Creel intimated that plans are well developed for 
still another kind of motor which he believes will be 
feasible, particularly in Mexico, and which if introduced 
here, he believes would increase the value of Mexican 
lands from i to lo. I should have said that Mr. Creel ex- 
pressed the opinion also that the construction of such 
branch lines as the Mexican Central and National road 
have projected will increase the value of land in the sections 
reached all the way from i to 5 to i to 10. 

It is needless to say that Mr. Creel is thoroughly well in- 
formed regarding conditions in Mexico and when he ex- 
presses entire confidence in the future of the country and 
of the Mexican Central, as he did to me today, his words 
should be accorded unusual importance. 

I trust I may be pardoned for saying that Mr. Creel 
greatly appreciates the work that the New York News 
Bureau has done for Mexico. 

General Snyman's Boer Colony. 

r\ RTIZ, Mex., Aug. 24. — This town is located on the 

main line of the Mexican Central, about 50 miles south 

of Chihuahua. Some 12 miles west from here General W. 

D. Snyman, a general in the recent Boer war, and a Boer 

20 



himself, in company with General Valjean, a fellow Boer 
general, has established a flourishing colony for his people. 

Already 28 families have come over and joined the colo- 
ny and more will follow soon. The colony has a concession 
from the Mexican Government for 87,000 acres of valuable 
agricultural lands. This season General Snyman and his 
people have cultivated 3,500 acres of wheat, and the crop is 
worth about $20,000, Mexican money. They have also 
raised a large amount of corn and other grains. The col- 
ony now owns 3,000 head of cattle. 

The land is remarkably well situated and has an abun- 
dant water supply from the river which runs through it. I 
had several interviews with General Snyman in Chihuahua 
yesterday. We drove together, had two meals together, 
and discussed in detail his plans for the future of his project. 

These plans include the formation of a corporation for 
the permanent financing and development of the enter- 
prise. Governor Creel is really the god-father of the col- 
ony, as he financed the scheme for General Snyman origin- 
ally. I do not think it would be well to disclose the original 
price paid for the concession, but it may be taken as a fact 
that the colony is not burdened with an exorbitant pur- 
chase price. 

General Snyman is a magnetic and noble fellow and he 
not only deserves success, but is certain of it. He has an 
excellent helper in his good and brave wife. 

Already the establishment of this colony has meant a 
large amount of inbound traffic for the Mexican Central, 
but from this time on not only will this class of traffic in- 
crease, but the colony will ship big quantities of grain 
and other agricultural products. Those 87,000 acres and 
28 or more Boer families will figure prominently in the 
earnings of the Mexican Central within a few years. 

The establishment and development of this colony is 
certain to be followed by others soon. 



Other Centres of Activity in Northern Mexico. 

npORREON, Mex., Aug. 26.— I neglected to say in my 

letters from Chihuahua that the American Smelting & 

Refining Company will build a large smelter in that city 

near the junction of the Mexican Central and Kansas City, 

21 



Mexico & Orient railroads. Ultimately this will be one of 
the company's largest smelters. At the outset it will have 
a daily capacity of about 450 tons. 

Torreon is nearly 300 miles south of Chihuahua on the 
Mexican Central and is the next largest city on the way to 
the City of Mexico. There are, however, several important 
intermediate stations. The first is Jimenez, second only 
to the City of Chihuahua as a distributing centre for the 
great State of Chihuahua. At Jimenez the Mexican Cen- 
tral has a branch to Parral, the centre of one of the richest 
silver mining districts in all Mexico. Recently there has 
been a great rush of prospectors to this district. I am not 
able to give at the moment the value of the ores which are 
delivered annually to the Mexican Central at Parral and 
Jimenez, but I know that it is several million dollars. Par- 
ral is rapidly becoming a winter resort for northern people. 
When I was in Mexico last year I met persons from Phila- 
delphia who had passed the entire Winter there for their 
health. Jimenez has a population of 10,000 or more, while 
Parral already has 16,000. 

Escalon is the next station of importance going south 
on the main line of the Mexican Central. Here is the 
junction point of the Mexican Northern Railway, whose 
line runs northeastward to the Sierra Mojada mining dis- 
trict, where is one of the most valuable carbonate camps in 
the world. From this source the Mexican Central gets a 
considerable amount of traffic in and out. 

About 15 miles west of Bermejillo, the next station of 
special importance, is a big silver-lead mining camp, which 
gives the Mexican Central a large amount of business. 
The company that owns this camp is said to be one of 
the richest in M'exico. Important copper discoveries have 
aho been made in this region. 

Gomez Palacio is the next station which figures in the 
traffic of the Mexican Central. It is a flourishing town only 
three miles north of Torreon. The two are connected by 
a thoroughly modern trolley system. They are situated 
in the heart of the Laguna district, which is the great cot- 
ton section of Mexico. Before I left New York I was 
trustworthily informed that the cotton crop in Mexico 
promised exceedingly well. Since arriving in the country 
I have received the same information from several good 

23 



sources. I can assure you that it is in excellent condition 
and that the yield undoubtedly will be very large. 

Lerdo, in the State of Durango, with a population of 
nearly 8,000, is near Gomez Palacio, on the Nazos River. 
At Lerdo are large oil mills, soap factories, an electric light 
plant, etc. The Mexican Central has constructed a branch 
eastward through the heart of the cotton district to San 
Pedro, a distance of 40 miles. Already this branch has 
proven very profitable. The owners of cotton lands in this 
section realize large profits from their crop and are very 
prosperous. The report of the Mexican Central for the 
present fiscal year will show big returns from the cotton 
traffic. 

The usefulness of Torreon as a railroad centre is greatly 
increased by the fact that the company's northern Tampico 
branch begins here. This line is 548 miles long and affords 
a direct route to Tampico for traffic from the United States 
and points in Mexico north of Torreon, destined for Tampi- 
co, which is already the greatest harbor of Mexico. Mon- 
terey is about half way from Torreon to Tampico on this 
line. It is a city of 70,000 population and among the lead- 
ing industries is a large steel plant, the largest in Mexico. 
Monterey is the most important manufacturing city in 
Northern Mexico. The capital invested in the various 
industries in this centre aggregates nearly $25,000,000, and 
nearly $10,000,000 in banks and banking houses. 

Probably the most important industry in Monterey is 
the recently established steel plant, with a capital of $10,- 
000,000. The company owns extensive iron mines and will 
manufacture all classes of iron and steel products. 

At Tampico there is the most important harbor in 
Mexico. The Government has expended $12,000,000 or 
more, and the Mexican Central a considerable amount. 
The latter has steamship lines plying between Tampico and 
Galveston, Port Arthur and New Orleans, and lines also 
run direct to Havana and New York. 

A little later I hope to visit Tampico and to give more 
detailed information regarding that important point. 



24 



From Eagle Pass to Torreon. 

'T' ORREON, Mex., Aug. 27.— At Torreon is the junc- 
tion of the Mexican Central and the Mexican Inter- 
national Railroad, which, as you know, is now a part 
of the National Railroad Company of Mexico system. It 
is an important part of the system, too. The latter has two 
gateways on the north, one at Laredo, where the National 
Railroad proper begins, and the other at Eagle Pass on the 
American side and Ciudad Porfirio Diaz on the Mexican 
side, the northern end of the Mexican International. At 
Eagle Pass connection is made with the Southern Pacific 
and at Laredo with the International & Great Northern, 
which, with the connecting roads, affords a direct short 
line to St. Louis and Chicago on the north and to New Or- 
leans, Washington and New York on the east. 

I shall not have the pleasure on this trip of going over 
the Alexican International from Eagle Pass to Torreon, 
but I am able to give trustworthy information regarding 
conditions along that section of the line. 

The country in the neighborhood of Ciudad Porfirio 
Diaz is very productive and corn and wheat are raised 
quite extensively. The ranches there produce a large num- 
ber of cattle. 

Near Sabinas, about 75 miles south of Ciudad Porfirio 
Diaz, is located the 40,000-acre ranch and coal property of 
the National Railroad Company of Mexico. I learn from 
very good sources that the returns from this property 
have been satisfactory to the owner. At Sabinas there 
is a branch to the coal mines at Hondo and Felipe, where 
the supply of bituminous coal is practically inexhaustible. 

At Hermanas are hot springs, which are said to be equal 
to the famous hot springs of Arkansas. Near the city is 
a valuable mine of magnetic iron, while the whole region is 
rich in the more precious metals. 

Monoclova, 147 miles south from Ciudad Porfirio Diaz, 
is the centre of a rich agricultural district. A few miles 
from the railroad either way I am told that there are verit- 
able garden sections. From Monoclova the cotton goods, 
cattle and grain shipments are large. From this point also 
an important branch extends to Cuatro Cienegas. 



From Reata there is a branch to Monterey, a city of 
70,000, where connection is made with the National Rail- 
road and the Mexican Central. Jaral, the next important 
station, ships ixtle, barley and hay. 

We are now approaching Torreon, being only about 
100 miles distant. At intermediate points are heavy traf- 
fic producing branches to San Pedro, Tlahualilo and Ber- 
megillo. 

Torreon is one of the newest cities in Mexico. No 
better proof of this statement is needed than the marked 
absence of church spires, which are so numerous in all the 
older towns and cities of the Republic. It is an important 
city for the Mexican International and the Mexican Cen- 
tral, the two railroads which serve it. Here is located a 
large smelter, for the purchase of which the American 
Smelting & Refining Company recently negotiated. It 
gives both railroads a large amount of business. There is 
a big flour mill at Torreon, and the International road has 
its shops here also. 

In my next letter I will deal with the business of the 
Mexican International from Torreon to Duransfo. 

Some of the Attractions of Durango. 
T^ URANGO, Mex., Aug. 28.— This city, which is the 
-*^ capital of the State of that name, is the west- 
ern terminus of the Mexican International Railroad and 
is nearly 160 miles from Torreon. The ride between these 
two points is one of constant delight. The route, most of 
the way, is across a broad expanding plain, or mesa, to use 
the Spanish term. A few miles back on either side suc- 
cessive ranges of mountains form a grand and imposing 
background. Whoever takes this trip will be well repaid 
with the scenery along the route. 

The Mexican International is often spoken of as a coal 
and ore road, but its native passenger traffic is already largi 
and its tourist traffic is certain to increase rapidly. As 
on all the other railroads of importance in Mexico, the Pull- 
man service is found, and traveling with a great degree of 
comfort is thus made possible. 

But the International carries something besides coal 
iron and passengers. For a good part of the way from Tor 
reon to Durango the road runs through one of the finest 

27 



agricultural sections that I have seen in Mexico. Corn 
fields several miles long and a mile or two wide are fre- 
quent sights. Horses and cattle are raised in great num- 
bers on the vast ranches comprising many thousands of 
acres each. While there are no large intermediate towns, 
every station is a distributing centre for a tremendous 
area, as the International is the only railroad extending 
westward through this section. At each of these stations 
I saw a dozen or more stages and carts which carry travel- 
ers and freight lOO miles or more in various directions to 
villages, mining camps and ranches. 

Durango is one of the most interesting cities that I have 
visited in Mexico. It is nearly 400 years old and is a happy 
combination of the ancient and modern. The city has 
about 50,000 population, less than 200 of which are Ameri- 
cans. It is the capital of the second largest State in the 
Republic. The streets are paved, lighted by electricity and 
a street railway system reaches the important sections of 
the city, connecting it with the International Railroad sta- 
tion. The town is well supplied with hotels, but no one 
who goes to the New Richelieu will make a mistake. It 
has a charming location on the principal plaza of the city. 
The proprietor is H. J. Benson, who is one of the molt ac- 
tive and public-spirited young Americans in the city. Mr. 
Benson is likely to be heard from soon in connection with 
an important new enterprise for Durango. 

The city is also well supplied with banks, the Banco de 
Durango being the principal institution. - It has a capital of 
$2,000,000 Mexican currency, a good-sized surplus, and pays 
its stockholders 9 per cent, in dividends. I had an inter- 
view today with Francisco Asunsolo, the general manager, 
and he told me that the profits this year will be $500,000, or 
double the original paid-in capital. The bank building 
is a handsome structure, while the interior appointments 
and methods are modern in every respect. Mr. Asunsolo 
is one of the most progressive citizens of Durango and has 
had a prominent part in its development. He is firmly of 
the opinion that the outlook for business of all kinds in 
Mexico was never brighter. A. L. Negrete, another ag- 
gressive young Mexican, a citizen of Durango, but who 
spent last Winter and Spring in New York city on an im- 
portant mission, is an officer of the Banco de Durango. 

28 



Mr. Negrete is a lawyer and intends opening an office in 
New York next month. The Banco de London y Mexico 
and the Banco Nacional both have large and flourishing 
branches in Durango. 

This city is the centre of an immensely wealthy mining, 
agricultural and grazing district. Here, near the Mexican 
International station, is located the famous Iron Mountain, 
which contains a practicallv inexhaustible supply of iron 
ore. This ore averages from 75 to 90 per cent iron. On the 
western side of the mountain, at the foot, is a talus of ore 
which has broken off from the main body of ore and rolled 
down. I am trustworthily informed that there is enough 
ore in this talus to supply 1,000 tons per day for years. 
Near the mountain is a large iron mill which supplies the 
railroad with much traffic. 

Durango, like Chihuahua, is a big clearing house for an 
immense district. The value of the ores mined in the State 
last year was nearly $14,100,000 Mexican currency. The 
value of the products of the mines cleared through the City 
of Durango annually amounts to several million dollars. 

The official records do not show the value of the cattle, 
grain and other agricultural products raised each year, and 
I was not able to get exact figures from other sources. In 
each instance I learned, however, that the values run well 
into the millions. 

A representative of the International road told me today 
that the inbound freight traffic at Durango averages $100,- 
000 a month, while the company ships from Durango every 
month all the way from $250,000 to $500,000 worth of 
freight. The passenger receipts average $5,000 a month, 
while the returns are often greatly in excess of that amount. 
An important feature of the freight traffic recently has been 
the large amount of agricultural machinery shipped in for 
the haciendas. 

As I have already indicated, Durango is the centre of a 
vast and rich mining section, but the operators have suf- 
fered for the lack of a smelter. Anyone who knows the 
conditions in the Durango district realizes the large profits 
that can be made by the operation of a modern smelter at 
Durango. It is expected that the construction of such a 
plant will be begun Oct. 15. Work will be pushed as 
rapidly as possible. Provision will be made for handling a 

29 



large amount of ore ultimately, but at the outset the 
capacity will be moderate. The smelter will be independent 
of the Guggenheim interests in Mexico. 

I had an interview today with Lie. Esteban Fernandez, 
Governor of the State of Durango. He, like the other gov- 
ernors in Mexico, is a very progressive man and is ex- 
tremely friendly and well disposed toward Americans plan- 
ning to invest in enterprises in Mexico. He is thoroughly 
confident regarding the future of his country. 

Mexico's Growing Activities. 

/^ N Board Mexican Central Train From Torreon to Zac- 
atecas, Mex., Aug. 29. — ^It may be well for readers of 
these letters to know that the information they contain is 
not easily gathered and that much of it must be prepared on 
the train, as in the present case. Before taking up Zac- 
atecas and the other intermediate towns and cities to the 
City of Mexico, I wish to give some items of information 
that have been overlooked in the necessarily hasty prepara- 
tion of previous letters 

In order to avoid the payment of the higher duties that 
become effective Sept. i Mexican merchants have placed 
unusually large orders in the United States and the freight 
traffic through El Paso over the Mexican Central is in- 
creasing in proportion. The company's freight clerks at 
that point are in the midst of the busiest August that they 
have known in years. 

The company's passenger traffic is increasing rapidly 
also. The other night, coming from Chihuahua to Tor- 
reon, the best my party could do was upper berths, al- 
though our order for accommodations was filed well in ad- 
vance. Practically every berth in the car was taken. At 
present only one Pullman is run from El Paso to Mexico 
City, but the conductor told me that night that the traffic 
was so heavy that undoubtedly another car would be put 
on soon. Last night every berth on the north bound train 
was sold before it pulled into Torreon, and I met several 
people who were obliged to sit up or wait until the next 
train. These facts are particularly significant as this is 
not the regular tourist season. Most of the Pullman pas- 
sengers are Americans on business to Mexico, although 

30 



It is true that many Americans now go to Mexico City 
for a summer resort. 

Readers of the New York News Bureau service will re- 
call that several weeks ago we announced that the Mexican 
Central management had decided to introduce oil as fuel on 
Its locomotives. C. R. Hudson, the new vice-president, 
says that the company already is erecting oil tanks to hold 
the oil which will be obtained near Tampico. Eight large 
tanks will be erected at once. The first one will be at 
Ebano and the last in Mexico City. Mr. Hudson, says that 
at first only the Aguascalientes and Tampico divisions 
will be equipped for the use of oil, but that as soon as pos- 
sible all of the divisions of the main hne and its branches 
will be placed under the oil burning system. It is prob- 
able that the Guadalajara division will be the next to be 
equipped for oil. Already this fuel is being used on several 
locomotives with excellent results. 

As I stated in a recent letter, Torreon is one of the 
newest cities in Mexico. It is growing rapidly and new 
industries are being started constantly. Among the latest 
is a broom factory, which is owned and operated by Au- 
relio Lamadrid. The plant will have a daily capacity of 
i,ooo brooms. Juan Creel, a brother of Enrique C. Creel, 
has started a broom factory in Chihuahua. In both in- 
stances the broom corn is to be raised near the respective 
cities in which the plants are located. 

Speaking of Torreon, F. E. Young, Assistant General 
Passenger Agent of the National Lines of Mexico, says that 
both the passenger and the freight business of the Mexican 
International Railroad through Torreon is increasing stead- 
ily and that now the company is doing the largest business 
at that point in the history of the company. Although I 
was not able to get the exact figures, I understood that the 
Mexican Central's business at Torreon is also growing 
rapidly. 

In a previous letter I referred briefly to the Monterey 
Iron & Steel Works. I hear that the plant is working full 
time on the structural iron for two iron wharves which the 
Mexican Government will construct at San Benito at a cost 
of $450,000. 

31 



The Mexican Central is now carrying fruit from Tam- 
pico to the States that was formerly shipped to New Or- 
leans by water. 

A cotton expert from Texas, who is thoroughly familiar 
with conditions in Mexico, says that the grade of Mexican 
cotton is improving rapidly and that this year's yield will 
be so large that it will be necessary to import only a small 
amount from Texas. He expresses the opinion confidently 
also that the time will soon come when Mexico will be 
independent of any other country in the matter of cotton 
and will be able to export some of her surplus production. 

Owing to the operations of the Beef Trust, Mexican 
cattle raisers are not sending nearly as many cattle to the 
United States as formerly. Mr. Creel told me in Chihua- 
hua the other day that Mexico City is now the principal 
market for Mexican cattle. A large number of Mexican 
cows and breeding stock are now being exported from 
Tampico to Havana. The Cuban cattlemen are said to 
prefer the Mexican varieties to those of any other country, 
because of their hardiness and adaptability to the climate 
and range conditions in Cuba. In the fiscal year ended 
June 30 last nearly 70,000 head of Mexican cattle valued at 
$2,000,000, were exported through Tampico to Cuba. These 
facts show also the growing importance of Tampico as a 
harbor. 

Readers of this service will recall that official announce- 
ment was made recently that the Mexican Central man- 
agement had decided to build a Pacific Coast extension to 
Manzanillo. The company has exercised its option on the 
narrow gauge road of the Mexican National Construction 
Company, which it will use as a part of the proposed new 
line. I understand that the Mexican Central officials are 
confident that this new road will pay from the outset. It 
is estimated that not less than four trainloads of lumber will 
be carried each day as soon as the road is open to traffic, 
This class of freight is there merely waiting for transporta- 
tion. This new line will tap a timber district in which are 
remarkably fine woods. Reports which the traffic officials 
of the Mexican Central have received indicate that hun- 
dreds of cars will be needed each month to move the timber. 
Even four trainloads a day will go a long way toward 
showing a profit in the operation of the line. 

?.2 



Large quantities of sugar and coffee are grown in the 
territory that will be reached bv the Manzanillo extension 
and the carrying of these products will swell the gross 
earnings materially. 

The company also expects to do a large transcon- 
tinental business over the new line in connection with the 
present Tampico division. It is also expected that the 
former will be one of the best divisions in the whole sys- 
tem for local freight. 



Where Irrigation Has Told. 
^ ACATECAS, Mex., Aug. 30. — Yesterday, soon after 
leaving Torreon, I was greatly impressed with the 
luxuriant growth of corn and cotton to be seen from the 
car window in a section that looked absolutely barren when 
I passed through it last year. That was the dry season; 
this is the wet season, and irrigation has been used more 
freely this year. Alongside of the growing cotton were 
large' field's of corn that compare very favorably in quality 
with the crop in Kansas and Missouri. 

The excellent condition of the crops between Torreon 
and Zacatecas only serves to illustrate what may be ac- 
complished in Mexico agriculturally with a free supply of 
water. In this connection I have had several long inter- 
esting conversations during the last few days with John 
M. Irwin, who represents the Stover Manufacturing Co., 
of Freeport, 111., manufacturers of windrrtills. Mr. Irwin, 
during the last eighteen years, has made frequent trips 
through the civilized countries of the world in which the 
water problem is conspicuous. He told me that, within 
this period, he has seen the situation regarding this prob- 
lem completely changed. For instance, in Texas, where 
Mr. Irwin began his work, the ranches were nearly all lo- 
cated along the rivers. Gradually the windmill idea was 
taken up, so that now some of the finest ranches and farms 
are found many miles from the streams. 

Mr. Irwin has devoted nearly a lifetime, not simply to 
selling windmills, but also to educating the people to a 
realization of the importance of storing water in times 
of plenty. In this connection he has been instrumental in 
having large land owners build immense storage tanks, into 

33 



which the surplus water is pumped during the rainy sea- 
son. The water, as needed, is drawn from the bottom 
of the tank. This plan, with the size of the receptacle, 
makes it possible to give the cattle nearly as cool water 
as if it were pumped fresh every day. 

This plan of giving the cattle an unfailing supply of 
water is being introduced very generally in Mexico. The 
irrigation facilities are being materially increased every 
year. Mr. Creel told me in Chihuahua the other day that 
water can be found at various depths in all parts of Mex- 
ico. The Government will lend all aid possible, financial 
or otherwise, to increase irrigation facilities. A few years 
hence it seems altogether probable that the earnings of 
the railroads in Mexico will be from one-fourth to one- 
third larger than now, simply by reason of the great in- 
crease in the agricultural products that will follow a more 
general use of water. 

The towns on the Mexican Central between Torreon 
and Zacatecas, while not large, are important as distribut- 
ing points. At all of them I saw many stages, carts and 
heavy wagons, which bring the people and products of 
the ground to the railroad and take the people, supplies 
and machinery back to the haciendas. Jimulco marks the 
terminus of a division on the Mexican Central and it is 
plainly to De seen that this is an important point. 

Zacatecas has been the centre of a rich mining section 
for more than four centuries. It is said that mining was 
begun here in September, 1546. And although it is esti- 
mated that the mines in this section up to 100 years ago 
had produced ores valued in the aggregate at about ten 
billion dollars, they are still producing large quantities of 
rich ores steadily. The idea has gained circulation in the 
States that the Zacatecas mines are worked out, but I am 
trustworthily informed that this is by no means the fact. 

I had a long interview today with H. Bartning, general 
manager of the Banco de Zacatecas. He tells me that the 
Mexican Central is carrying 400 tons of ore a month from 
this city. These figures do not include the production of 
several large private mines ; they represent only the output 
in the immediate vicinity of this city. The output of the 
whole State is very large. 

35 



Both Mr. Bartning and Mr. Gmelin, a prominent min- 
ing engineer and ore buyer here, assure me that matters in 
Zacatecas show decided improvement. There is some talk 
of a smelter being constructed at this centre. At present 
the ores are shipped to Aguascalientes, Torreon and Ma- 
pimi for treatment. The sentiment in favor of a smelter 
does not seem very strong. 

Business in general in Zacatecas is flourishing. The 
city has a population of about 35,000. Many of the stores 
are large, and as I walked through the streets this morning 
they showed unmistakable signs of doing a flourishing 
business. Mr. Bartning told me that they have a large 
trade with the outlying districts also. 

There are two banks here, the Banco de Zacatecas, with 
a capital of $1,000,000 and available cash of $1,500,000, and 
a flourishing branch of the Banco de Nacional. Mr. Bart- 
ning told me that large quantities of a fine grade of wool 
are produced in the vicinity of Zacatecas and that there is 
an excellent opportunity for a well managed woolen fac- 
tory. The city has many points of interest for the tourist. 



Points of Interest in Aguascalientes. 

A GUASCALIENTES, Mex., Aug. 31.— The name of 
this. city in English would be Hot Waters. While 
the hot waters have given the place its name and made it 
famous, there is much here besides the waters and the 
baths. It should be mentioned in passing, however, that 
they are patronized by many people living in other parts 
of the Republic and that from this source the Mexican 
Central derives a large passenger traffic at this point.- 

Aguascalientes is the chief city and capital of a State 
of the same name and has a population of about 38,000. 
Of this number nearly 500 are Americans. Zacatecas, of 
which I spoke in my last letter, is situated in a small valley 
between high mountains. Aguascalientes is located on a 
beautiful plain, and although the State is one of the small- 
est in the Republic, in it are to be found some of the larg- 
est and most productive haciendas or ranches, in all Mex- 
ico. Through this city most of the traffic in connection 
with these haciendas is distributed. 



36 



Aguascalientes is also a mining State of considerable 
importance. Silver, lead and tin are the principal ores. 
The great industry of the place, however, is the immense 
smelter of the American Smelting & Refining Company. 
The starting of this plant has greatly increased the gen- 
eral business of the city. The company treats about 45,- 
000 tons of ore a month on the average and employs 1,600 
men. I am trustworthily informed that at this smelter 
ores all the way from Arizona and from all parts of Mex- 
ico are treated. As the Mexican Central is the only rail- 
road entering this city, no argument is needed to show that 
the smelter is a very important factor in its trafific. I am 
told, by the way, that last year the net profits of the smel- 
ter, above charges of all kinds, were $1,500,000 gold. I 
am also told that the company distributed about $150,000 
among its employees here. 

This city has four banks, the Banco de Aguascalientes, 
branches of the Banco de Nacional, Banco de London y 
Mexico and the Banco de Zacatecas. The first named in-^ 
stitution has a capital of $600,000. 

Next to the smelter the shops of the Mexican Central 
are the great industry of Aguascalientes. These are the 
principal shops of the company, although it has division 
shops at several other points, like Chihuahua, for instance. 
The land on which the shops are located consists of no less 
than 15 or 20 acres and is surrounded by a fine stone wall. 

Some idea of the extent of the plant may be had from 
the single fact that the payroll averages about 1,600 men, 
largely Mexicans. At these shops freight cars are rebuilt 
and locomotives repaired. About 500 cars and 20 loco- 
motives are turned out every month. 

The shops are complete in every respect. There is a 
rolling mill, the product of which is about 90,000 kilos a 
month. In the blacksmith shop the company makes all the 
axles needed in its repair work, while in other shops con- 
nected with the plant are made the materials for all depart- 
ments, such, for instance, as frogs, switches, etc. At the 
foundry all castings needed are produced. The company 
makes here also all its own tinware, such as oilcans and 
buckets of every variety. Another important feature is 
the tie-treating plant, in which 150 men are employed and 
80,000 ties treated each month. 

37 



It will be recalled that I have spoken of the plans of the 
Mexican Central management to substitute oil for coal 
as fuel on its locomotives. The work of remodeling the 
locomotives is being done at the Aguascalientes shops. 
Already 20 are under way and the foreman told oie today 
that by Jan. i next he expects to have 50 ready for strvice. 

Not only has the company decided to use oil on its 
locomotives, but in its shops as well. The furnaces in the 
shops here which supply power are now using oil instead 
of coal, with entirely satisfactory results. It is proposed 
to substitute oil for coal throughout the entire plant. A 
representative of the company told me today that this will 
mean a saving of 50 per cent, in the operation of the shops. 

After the shops the next point of interest is the com- 
pany's hospital. Without exception it is the finest, best 
equipped and best managed hospital I have ever seen. If 
my abilit}^ to pass judgment on this point is doubted, per- 
mit me to quote Dr. Agnew, of New York, who, I am told, 
has said there isn't a hospital in the United States that 
excels it. There is a series of beautiful brick buildings 
located in the centre of magnificent grounds which com- 
mand a splendid view of the mountains beyond the city to 
the west. Dr. H. S. Squires, the chief surgeon of the com- 
pany, and his good wife are in charge. 

Another fact that adds to the importance of Aguascali- 
entes is that it is the junction of the main line with the 
Tampico division, which passes through Salinas, noted for 
its extensive salt works, and San Luis Potosi, a city of 
60,000 and one of the most important business centres in 
the Republic. At Aguascalientes the Mexican Central 
has built a considerable number of neat houses for its em- 
ployees. 

While on my trip to the company's shops here today, I 
had the unexpected pleasure of meeting C. R. Hudson, 
vice-president in charge of operation, and E. E. Styner, 
general manager of the Mexican Central, who are making 
a tour of inspection. I had a long interview with Mr. 
Hudson and I am glad to report that he is entirely confi- 
dent regarding the future of both Mexico and the Mexican 
Central. I understand that the gross earnings for the first 
three weeks of August showed a large increase in com- 
parison with the same period of last year, and Mr. Hudson 

39 




TUNNELS NEAR FAMASOPO. 



expects these increases to continue throughout the present 
fiscal year. He is confident also that the net earnings will 
be proportionately as large. He told me that the company 
is prepared to handle a considerably larger traffic with only 
a small proportionate increase in operating expenses. This, 
of course, would mean excellent net receipts. 

Mr. Hudson says that this year's cotton crop in Mex- 
ico will be the largest ever gathered in the Republic. As 
I have said before, the outlook for corn is excellent. The 
passenger traffic is increasing rapidly. I understand that 
the company will efifect important economies this year 
that will still further increase the net earnings and in no 
way work to the detriment of either the service ot the prop- 
erty. 

Mr. Hudson believes that from this time on the bene- 
fits of the new monetary system will be realized in a 
marked degree. Wise provision for the miners was made 
in the monetary plan, so that it is not working any hard- 
ship or loss for them, but a profit. 

I can only repeat that both Mr. Hudson and Mr. Styner, 
in company with all the close observers of conditions in 
Mexico whose opinions I have quoted, are entirely confi- 
dent regarding the future of this Republic. 

From Aguascalientes to the Capital. 

■\/TEXICO CITY, Mex., Sept. i.— Here we are in City of 
Mexico, with its 400,000 population, 10,000 of which 
are Americans ; the Capital of a Republic with 14,500,000 
population. Although I have been here only a few hours I 
have seen distinct signs of marked progress over the al- 
ready satisfactory conditions that existed when I visited 
the city last year. But more about Mexico City in an- 
other letter ; in this one I wish to outline the big business 
that is being done along the line of the Mexican Central 
from Aguascalientes to the metropolis. 

Lagos, the first place of importance, is the centre for 
the trade from a very rich agricultural district, and has a 
population of about 25,000. Leon, with nearly 65,000 in- 
habitants, comes next. It is situated in a valley noted for 
its great fertility of soil and is a big manufacturing city. 
Immense quantities of rebosos, tapalos and mantillas, the 

41 



three grades of shawls worn by the Mexican women, are 
made at Leon. Zarapes, the blankets almost universally 
worn by the Mexican men of the lower class, are also ex- 
tensively manufactured in the same city. 

Silao, with 15,000 to 20,000 souls, is the terminus of a 
division on the Mexican Central, and is, therefore, a rail- 
road centre of considerable importance. A branch runs 
to Guanajuato, the rich mining town which had a dis- 
astrous flood two months ago. In the vicinity of Silao 
there is a great abundance of water ordinarily, and even 
in dry seasons it can be found at a depth of a few feet 
below the surface. Silao is in the centre of a district in 
which the soil is said to be the most productive in Mexico. 

Irapuato has a population of 20,000. At nearly every 
important railroad station in Mexico a special kind of ware 
or fruit is sold by the natives. Irapuato is the "straw- 
berry" station. There this fruit can be bought every day 
in the year for a nominal sum. From Irapuato the Mexican 
Central has a line 217 miles long running west through 
a rich agricultural and fruit-growing country, which pro- 
duces large crops of wheat, corn, sugar and the finest 
oranges in the Republic. From Guadalajara the Mexican 
Central already has a line to Tuxpan, and it is from the 
latter point that the new Manzanillo branch to the Pacific 
Coast is being built. 

Going south on the main line of the Mexican Central 
Salamanca, with 20,000 inhabitants, is the next town of 
importance. This place exports large quantities of kao- 
lin and white clay, and also sells large quantities of leather 
goods of all kinds, which constitute the chief articles of 
commerce. The straw sombrero, the universal hat of fhe 
Mexican of the common class, is made here very exten- 
sively. 

Celaya, with more than 25,000, and extensive cotton 
mills, is next in order. The city is also noted for its con- 
fectionery, and is, in fact, the "candy" town of Mexico. 
Here the Mexican Central crosses the main line of the 
National Railroad of Mexico and this adds considerably to 
the importance of the place as a railroad centre. Large 
quantities of soap are made in Celaya and the town is also 
the centre of a very productive agricultural section. 

43 



Queretaro is the opal station of Mexico and has large 
cotton mills. 

San Juan del Rio is a thriving city of 25,000, and also is 
the outlet for a rich agricultural district. For some dis- 
tance south from this station the main line of the Mexican 
Central runs through miles of corn fields which appear to 
be as extensive as those of Kansas, for instance. Fields 
of the maguey plant, from which is made pulque, one of the 
most common drinks among the common people of Mexico, 
begin to appear. The making of this beverage is one of the 
important industries of Mexico. Even ten years ago, in 
one of the smallest States in the Republic, the maguey 
haciendas were valued at $8,000,000. 

Tula, the last place of importance on the main line of 
the Mexican Central before reaching Mexico City, is the 
terminus of the Pachuca branch. The town is located in a 
fertile section and one noted for its fine landscape scenery. 

The towns outlined in this letter are located on a sec- 
tion of the main line of the Mexican Central 365 miles long, 
and from this rough sketch I think it is plainly to be seen 
that they furnish a large amount of local traffic to the 
railway. 

Future of Mexico Promising. 

■jV/TEXICO CITY, Mex., Sept. 2.— I have not yet found 

a close observer of conditions here who is not con- 
fident that Mexico is on the eve of a big development. 
These men are not looking for a boom in Mexico — they 
sincerely hope that it will not come — but they do believe 
that the foundations have been laid for a healthful growth. 

Today I had a long interview with A. A. Robinson, 
president of the Mexican Central Railway Company. Mr. 
Robinson has lived in Mexico many years and during that 
time has been a close student, not only of the affairs of his 
company, but of those of the whole Republic as well. 

He told me that he is entirely confident regarding the 
future of Mexico and that he looks for distinct improve- 
ment in business during the next few months. Three or 
four months ago Mr. Robinson told me in New York that 
he looked for business in Mexico to begin to respond to 
the new monetary system about the first of September. 

45 



He now says that the improvement expected has come a 
little earlier than he anticipated. 

The gross earnings of the Mexican Central for the first 
three weeks of August were about 15 per cent, larger than 
for the same three weeks a year ago. Mr. Robinson ex- 
pects the gross receipts to continue to show correspond- 
ingly large gains. 

When the provisions of the new monetary system be- 
came known it was feared that they would tend to check 
the mining industry of Mexico, temporarily at least. That 
whatever effect of this kind may have been produced was 
of brief duration is clearly proven by the fact that while 
the plan was ofiQcially declared operative in April, the ore 
movement of the Mexican Central for June, only two 
months later, was larger than for preceding months, and 
for the corresponding month of 1904. In July and August 
it is understood that the gains were still larger. 

Speaking of the ore movement, it will be recalled that 
a few days ago I spoke of the large amount of ore which 
the Mexican Central handles in connection with the smel- 
ter of the American Smelting & Refining Company, at 
Aguascalientes. Upon information furnished me at the 
time I said that the latter company is handling about 45,- 
000 tons of ore a month. President Robinson tells me 
that his company is carrying an average of 2,000 tons a day, 
or 60,000 tons of ore a month for the Aguascalientes smel- 
ter. This, of course, means a large additional amount of 
collateral traffic. 

Mr. Robinson says that work is progressing satisfac- 
torily on the construction of the new Manzanillo line. At 
present about 1,700 men are employed. Later it is ex- 
pected that the number will be increased to 7,000 and that 
the road will be completed in 18 months. 

I understand that the Mexican Central has facilities for 
handling about 35 per cent, more traffic than at present. 
This could be accomplished with only a small proportion- 
ate increase in the operating expenses, which would mean 
excellent net receipts. 

I also had a long talk today with A. V. Temple, indus- 
trial agent of the Mexican Central, and who has lived in 
Mexico for '30 years. He said very emphatically that ag- 
ricultural, industrial and financial conditions here are all 

46 



right. Mr. Temple points out that Mexico has ideal con- 
ditions for becoming an extensive manufacturing country, 
and he confidently expects this industry to develop very 
materially within the next few years. 

He also calls attention to the fact that, within the last 
two or three years, two plants have been discovered in 
sections of Mexico that were regarded as unproductive, 
which promise large returns. The one, the ixtle, yields 
a fiber for which there is a big demand already in the manu- 
-facture of brushes, and the other, the guayule, contains 
rubber in large quantities. 

Mr. Temple further says that the ore bodies of Mexico 
have scarcely been scratched, that there are vastly greater 
mines of gold, copper and iron ore and of coal in Mexico 
than is realized except by a very few who have investigated 
the matter closely. 

In the opinion of Mr. Temple the next few years will see 
a still further development of existing industries in Mexico, 
rather than the organization of a larger number of new 
ones. ■ 

Mexico's Increasing Business, 

TV/f' EXICO CITY, Mex., Sept. 4. — Still another man who 
realizes that business is on the increase in Mexico 
and who looks for much better things for this country is 
E. N. Brown, president of the National Railroad Company 
of Mexico. Mr. Brown has resided in Mexico for 15 years or 
more and his opinion on conditions here is highly regarded 
by President Diaz and his associates and by every one who 
has the pleasure of his acquaintance. 

Mr. Brown told me, in the course of a talk which we 
had at his office today, that he believes there will be a big- 
ger development in Mexico during the next five years than 
there has been during the last ten or fifteen years. He 
said his associates have reported that, within the last three 
weeks, the business on the National lines has shown a 
distinct response to the new monetary system. During 
that time the gross earnings increased about 10 per cent. 
Mr. Brown believes that the traffic of the system will con- 
tinue to grow from this time on. 

47 



President Brown and his associates are watching with 
considerable interest the plans of business men in Durango 
to establish a smelter in that city. It will be recalled that 
I spoke of this proposed new enterprise in a letter from 
Durango. Mr. Brown says that the opening of that 
smelter would be of great importance to the business in- 
terests of Durango, and would also materially increase the 
earnings of the International Railroad, which belongs to 
the National system. He adds that the smelter would 
mean the re-opening of many mines in the vicinity of 
Durango which have been closed because they could not 
be operated profitably without a smelter at that centre. 
The smelter would also mean a further development of the 
coal properties on the International lines. 

The new smelter at Saltillo on the main line of the Na- 
tional will soon begin to give the company considerable 
traffic. Still another smelter in the vicinity of Torreon will 
add very materially to the business of the International. 

Mr. Brown says the reports recently circulated that his 
company will soon build a line to Guadalajara are incor- 
rect and that in the near future the management will de- 
vote its energies and the resources of the company to the 
development of existing lines. 

I also had a talk with W. B. Ryan, traffic manager of 
the National Railroad Company of Mexico. He is optimis- 
tic regarding the future of Mexico and of the company with 
which he holds such an important position. Mr. Ryan 
says that the passenger business on the National Railroad, 
both local and from across the border, is increasing very 
satisfactorily. Mr. Ryan has also been actively identified 
with the railroads of Mexico for many years, and is there- 
fore in a position to speak with authority. He looks for 
the business of the country to grow steadily from this time 
on. Both Mr. Brown and he expect the earnings of the 
Interoceanic Railway to show up considerably better this 
5rear. The new management has made liberal expenditures 
in raising the physical condition of this road to a satis- 
factory standard. As soon as I have an opportunity to 
travel over the National lines I will have more to say re- 
garding the business that is being done on them. 



48 



Mexico's Pioneer Railway. 

^~\ RIZABA, Mex., Sept. 7. — This evening I am spending 
a few hours in Orizaba waiting for the night train to 
Mexico City. This city is on the Mexican Railway, which 
runs from Vera Cruz to Mexico City and is about one-third 
of the way from the former to the latter. Because of its lo- 
cation on the western border of the really tropical section 
of Mexico and its delightful climate, Orizaba is one of the 
best known resorts in this country. 

As you may recall, the Mexican Railway Company was 
the first corporation to build a railroad in Mexico. It was 
originally, and is still, an English corporation. English 
capital and skill built the road. Unfortunately the same 
degree of skill that was displayed in the construction of the 
mountain division has not always been in evidence in the 
operation of the whole property. Since I was here last 
year, however, Walter Morcom has assumed active charge 
as general manager and it is not too much to say that he 
has very greatly improved the service. 

As already indicated, the Mexican Railway operates be- 
tween two of the most important cities in Mexico — Vera 
Cruz and the City of Mexico. For many years the former 
has been the principal gulf port in the Republic; now evi- 
dently Tampico is to get its share of the business. The 
Ward Line steamers from New York connect with the 
Mexican Railway at Vera Cruz and this fact gives the rail- 
road company a large tourist passenger business to Mexico 
City. Very many people take the trip over the railroad 
largely to see the marvelously beautiful scenery above and 
in the vicinity of Maltrata. The local passenger traffic on 
this road is also large. 

The company is doing a good freight business. Orizaba 
is a big city. Along the line, both above and below here, 
are important mills, which supply many thousand tons of 
traffic. The city itself swells these figures very materially. 

A few miles east from here is Cordoba, a good-sized city 
in the banana and coffee section of Mexico. Above Ori- 
zaba, toward Mexico City, the most important town is Es- 
peranza, which furnishes a big freight and passenger traffic. 
Still further west on the main line is Apizaco, whence goes 
the branch line to Puebla, one of the largest and most nota- 

49 



ble cities in southeastern Mexico. Apizaco is the "cane" 
town of Mexico. 

With the exception of short distances through the 
mountains, both the main line and the Puebla branch of the 
Mexican Railway run through a fertile agricultural and 
grazing country. On these two lines I have ridden along 
side of many thousands of acres of corn, some of which 
has been topped and will soon be gathered. The cattle are 
looking extremely well. It is evident that the company's 
freight traffic will be heavy this Fall, and in that case the 
passenger receipts will be good also, for when the Mexi- 
cans make money they travel. The stockholders of the 
Mexican Railway have not always been satisfied with the 
results obtained from operation, and they have had reason 
to complain. Perhaps they should not expect full divi- 
dends this year, but they will have occasion to congratulate 
Mr. Morcom, the new general manager, on the excellent 
work he has done. Under the former management I un- 
understand that the passenger conductors indulged in a 
profit-sharing plan that was much more remunerative to 
them than to the stockholders. Now I am trustworthily 
informed that, by having inspectors in the service, the 
stockholders are getting at least the big end of this game. 

I neglected to say that at Puebla the Mexican Railway 
connects with the Mexican Southern, while at Cordoba it 
forms a connection with the Vera Cruz & Pacific Railroad, 
which, it will be recalled, brought the Maryland Trust Com- 
pany, of Baltimore, to grief, but which is now owned and 
successfully operated by the Mexican Government. The 
Vera Cruz & Pacific in turn connects with the National 
Tehuantepec Railroad, which is likewise owned by the Gov- 
ernment. Through Pullman cars are run over the last two 
named roads from Cordoba to Salina Cruz on the Pacific 
Coast. 



Tampico as a Gulf Port. 

EXICO CITY, Mex., Sept. 8. — I regret exceedingly 
that I will not have time to visit Tampico, but I 
am fortunate in being able to secure thoroughly up-to- 
date information regarding that important point. 

50 



Tampico as a local business centre and as a gulf port is 
advancing at a rapid rate. The population of the city is 
now about 17,000, but the marked development that is go- 
ing on is attracting people to the place constantly. Both 
the Government and the Mexican Central Railway Com- 
pany have expended large sums of money in making the 
harbor and the railroad terminal second to none. Big 
ocean going vessels are able to discharge their passengers 
and freight without transfer or lighterage. The port is 
served by steamers running to New Orleans, Havana, New 
York and all European ports. 

The movement of traffic through Tampico, both in and 
out, is larger now than ever before. Recently, in spite of 
the fact that Mexico is not regarded as an exporting coun- 
try, the outbound cargoes at Tampico have exceeded those 
coming in. This condition is highly gratifying both to 
the railroad and the steamship companies. There is a big 
and growing bullion movement through Tampico and to 
meet the additional requirements, the Mexican Central is 
building a wharf to be used exclusively in the handling of 
bullion. The volume of hides, fibre and cattle through the 
Tampico gateway is rapidly increasing also. The Waters- 
Pierce Oil Company is adding to its facilities there ; other 
companies are doing the same thing. 

The sanitary conditions at Tampico are worthy of 
special mention. The new water works and sewerage sys- 
tems are nearly completed and will soon be turned over to 
the city. The Mexican Central has constructed about 330 
modern cottages which are rented to the employees for a 
nominal sum. The company also has at Tampico one of 
its thoroughly up-to-date hospitals. The most notable 
fact about this hospital, or rather about Tampico, is that 
there are only four patients in the institution, and they are 
there only to receive treatment for slight injuries. In 
spite of the fact that this is the rainy season, and although 
cases of malarial fever are expected at this time of the year, 
the Tampico hospital hasn't even a case of the latter, not to 
speak of yellow fever, of which there isn't a single case in 
or about Tampico. These facts are all the more signifi- 
cant, inasmuch as the hospital serves a large territory in 
the vicinity of Tampico. The Mexican Central hospital at 
Monterey is without patients of any description. When I 

51 



was in Aguascalientes, the company's hospital there had 
only a few surgical cases and no medical patients. These 
facts clearly show that the health conditions are excellent 
in the territory served by the Mexican Central. 

The railroad company is increasing its facilities at Tarn- 
pico constantly. Just no.w additional tracks are being 
laid. Tampico is already one of the great harbors of 
Mexico and many close observers believe it is destined to 
be the most important on either coast. The exports and 
imports at that point last year were 47 per cent, of the 
total for the entire Republic. The fisheries are a notable 
feature of Tampico and excellent opportunities are afforded 
for the establishment of canneries. They are sure to come. 

The Mexican Central already has two lines to Tampico, 
one from Torreon, that passes through Monterey, a city of 
75,000 inhabitants, and in which are a large smelter and 
steel plant. This line traverses a country well adapted to 
grazing and to the culture of semi-tropical fruits. Garden 
vegetables are being raised in large quantities already and 
exported to the United States. 

Victoria, located between Monterey and Tampico, is a 
city of 10,000 population and an important shipping point 
for a large surrounding section. Large plantations of hen- 
equen are profitably cultivated and a fine quality of oranges 
is raised. Half way between Victoria and Monterey is 
Linares, with a population of 8,000. In that vicinity are 
sugar haciendas which produce annually 3,000 tons of re- 
fined sugar and 1,800 barrels of rum. In the vicinity of 
Montemorelas are oil seepages and the country is well 
adapted to grazing. 

The other Mexican Central line to Tampico begins at 
Aguascalientes and is 415 miles in length. This division 
passes through San Luis Potosi, the largest city in that 
section of Mexico. It has a population of over 60,000 and 
is one of the most important business centres in the Re- 
public of Mexico. The scenery along the Mexican Central 
between San Luis Potosi and Tampico, is, in some respects, 
the finest in Mexico and many tourists make the trip sim- 
ply to see it. 

The plans of the Mexican Central management include 
the building of a short line from Mexico City to Tampico 
and one northeast to the border. Undoubtedly both of 

53 




54 



these lines will be built in due time. When the former 
extension is completed Mexico City, the capital, largest 
city and centre of activity in the Republic, will be con- 
nected with Tampico, already an important harbor, and 
destined to be a much greater one, by the most direct rail- 
road line possible. With the completion of the Pacific 
Coast extension to Manzanillo, now under way, the com- 
pany will have a direct line from the Gulf to the Ocean. 
The proposed short line to the border would give the 
Mexican Central another gateway on the north and a valu- 
able additional outlet to the central west and eastern cen- 
tres of the United States. 



The Show City of Mexico. 
/^ UADALAJARA, Mex., Sept. 9.— Mexico City is not 
^^ only the southern terminus of the main line of both 
the Mexican Central and of the National Railroad of 
. Mexico, but is also the terminus of several important div- 
isions of these two great systems. The most important 
division of this kind on the Mexican Central beginning in 
the City of Mexico is the one running to Guadalajara, a 
distance of 380 miles. I don't know that I am entirely cor- 
rect in saying that the division has its southern terminus in 
the capital city, as it diverges from the main line at Ira- 
puato, but at any rate, the company runs excellent trains, 
with Pullman accommodations, direct from Mexico City to 
Guadalajara. 

I have learned from several trustworthy sources that 
this is one of the best paying divisions on the whole j\Iexi- 
can Central system. Only a few facts are needed regard- 
ing the territory served by the Guadalajara division to 
show why it yields such handsome profits. 

In the first place the line passes through one of the 
very best agricultural States in the whole Republic. Even 
ten years ago the State of Jalisco produced more than 18.- 
000,000 bushels of corn ; more than 3,000,000 bushels of 
wheat, and 1,000,000 bushels of beans. A large part of the 
land which grew these crops is in sight as one passes along 
the Mexican Central track. The latter railroad, by the 
way, is the only one that serves this highly productive sec- 

55 



tion. As stated, the figures just given were for ten years 
ago. The yield of these various crops in recent years has 
been, and this year will be, very much larger. 

Along the Guadalajara division of the Mexican Central 
are raised also, in great quantities, what are regarded as the 
best oranges produced in the Republic. In the vicinity of 
Atequiza, a station about 25 miles east from Guadalajara, 
one man is said to have 500 acres of oranges. The native 
oranges grown in that locality are of excellent quality, but 
within the last year or two the culture of navel oranges, 
introduced from California, has been carried on success- 
fully. At the breakfast table this morning the proprietor 
of the Hotel Pleasanton served us with some of this variety 
and they certainly surpass in every respect any oranges 
that I ever tasted in the East, and I am told that they are 
of a finer quality than the same variety grown in Cali- 
fornia. 

Some idea of the importance of the orange industry in 
this section to the Mexican Central may be had from the 
single statement that the company now has an order from 
orange growers for 200 fruit cars, 100 of which are to be 
loaded at La Barca, perhaps the most important station 
on the Guadalajara division between Irapuato and this city. 
In glancing over the company's detailed freight and pass- 
enger receipts on this division for 1903 I see that La Barca 
alone contributed $231,595. This year's excellent crops 
and the general prosperity of the section should swell these 
figures materially. It should be stated in passing that the 
corn in this section looks well and promises a large crop. 

If time and space would permit much more might be 
said regarding the agricultural wealth of this section. I 
will only repeat, however, the statement made by a prom- 
inent American in this city, who has been actively identi- 
fied with its development for 20 years or more. It was 
this : "I regard the State of Jalisco as the granary of 
Mexico." 

Not only does this division of the Mexican Central run 
through such a productive section, but it serves this city 
of Guadalajara, the second largest city in the Republic. 
The population is certainly in excess of 100,000, and one 
authority estimates it as high as 125,000. Much has been 
written regarding Guadalajara. It has long been called 

56 



"The Pearl of the West," and the "Show City of Mexico." 
The citizens and municipal officers undoubtedly have much 
of which they may justly boast. The streets are asphalted 
and are lighted by electricity, while it is claimed that the 
municipality has the best waterworks and sewerage system 
in all Mexico. The Government buildings are elaborate, 
while the business houses are modern and evidently exceed- 
ingly prosperous. 

In 1901 Guadalajara gave the Mexican Central $453,123 
worth of traffic, while in 1903 the amount was increased to 
$2,017,612. This year I am informed that the railroad traf- 
fic here will yield nearly $4,000,000. These figures clearly 
show the rapid growth of the city and surrounding coun- 
try during the last few years. 

C. H. M. Blake, who is perhaps the best American au- 
thority in Guadalajara, tells me that the demand for elec- 
tric lighting has grown so rapidly that the electric light 
companies are soon to increase their facilities. They al- 
ready have work well advanced on extensions that will in- 
crease the horse power materially and cost $600,000. Since 
I arrived here, the management has decided to add another 
4,000 horse power, to cost still another $600,000. Mr. 
Blake also tells me that within the last ten years the earn- 
ings of the street car lines of Guadalajara have increased 
about 350 per cent. 

Within the last few days George W. Cook, who is one 
of the most prominent American business men in the Re- 
public, has bought for $80,000 a property in the business 
section of this city, on which he will erect a five-story and 
basement steel and masonry structure that will cost ap- 
proximately $125,000. The building will be the most mod- 
ern business structure in Guadalajara. 

Dr. V. H. Hobson, of Richmond, Ky., has obtained a 
concession for a distillery, the construction of which he 
will soon begin on a tract of land along the Mexican Cen- 
tral track south of this city. The ultimate plans of the 
doctor call for the operation of a large plant. The start- 
ing of this new industry near Guadalajara suggests a fact 
that is to be extremely potent in the further development 
of the city. Near by is abundant water power, which can 
easily be conveyed to the city, while to the west and south 
is a practically inexhaustible' supply of timber. President 

57 




58 



Robinson of the Mexican Central, and men here well in- 
formed confidently believe that Guadalajara is certain to 
be a great manufacturing city. 

There is a colony of about 500 Americans here, which in- 
cludes a flourishing American club of 180 members. The 
city boasts also of two American newspapers. One, "The 
Jalisco Times," is conducted by Rufe E. March and Austin 
C. Brady, both experienced and clever newspaper men. 
This paper would be a credit to any town in the United 
States, and apparently the proprietors are well rewarded 
for their labors. Besides those mentioned, the city and 
vicinity have other features that will materially increase 
the traffic of the Mexican Central. A well managed branch 
of the famous sanitarium of Battle Creek, Mich., located 
in Guadalajara, attracts many patients. The whole city 
for that matter is a sanitarium, for the air is delightful and 
healthful, and the health conditions excellent. Near here 
is the charming Lake Chapala, more than 50 miles long, 18 
miles wide and the largest lake in Mexico. It is remark- 
able, not only for the grand mountain scenery on both 
sides, but also for the fact that it is higher than Mount 
Washington and nearly the highest navigable body of 
water on the globe. Already a goodly number of both 
Mexicans and Americans have elaborate homes along the 
shores, and it is destined to be the great water resort of 
Mexico. A large number of tourists visit the lake every 
year, and they all travel over the Mexican Central, as no 
other railroad serves the section. 

Close observers in Guadalajara believe that the greatest 
development in the next few years- will come to the city 
and vicinity by reason of the additional railroad facilities 
that are assured. This division of the Mexican Central ex- 
tends westward 55 miles to Ameca. From La Vega a 
branch extends to San ]\Iarcos. From Guadalajara an- 
other important branch runs to Tuxpan, 120 miles. From 
that point the company is now buildino- its Pacific Coast 
extension to Manzanillo. This line will not onh"- afford an 
outlet to the coast at an excellent harbor, but will open up 
a vast and valuable timber section. It is expected that 
the extension will pay from the outset and in a short time 
yield handsome returns. This road will make the Mexican 
Central a transcontinental railroad. Ths business men in 

59 



Guadalajara realize that their city, already the great dis- 
tributing point for this section, will profit greatly thereby. 
It is confidently believed also that the Harriman inter- 
ests will build the railroad from Guaymas, on the Pacific 
Coast, to Guadalajara, for which they have secured a 
valuable concession. That road would open up a vast 
section on the central west coast of Mexico and would give 
the Mexican Central a large amount of business. 



Mexico's Alexander Hamilton. 

"IvyrEXICO CITY, Mex., Sept. ii.— I have had two inter- 
■^^^ views with His Excellency, Jose Y. Limantour, the 
brilliant Minister of Finance, or Secretary of the Treasury, 
in President Diaz's cabinet. Everyone at all familiar with 
Mexico realizes and appreciates the great work that Mr. 
Limantour has done for his country in establishing its 
finances on a sound and permanent basis. 

The Mexican Central gross earnings for August in- 
creased about $260,000, or 20 per cent., and the National 
Railroad earnings $100,000, or at least 10 per cent, over 
the corresponding month of last year. The division offi- 
cials on both systems began last month to report an in- 
crease in traffic at the principal stations and the chief 
executive officials here attribute the improvement largely to 
the establishment of the new monetary system. The new 
coins are coming into circulation rapidly here in the city 
and are also appearing in the principal cities throughout the 
Republic. They are tangible tokens of the great work of 
Mr. Limantour and others during the last two years for 
the finances of the country. 

A prominent young Mexican in this city, a member of 
Congress, with whom I dined a few evenings ago, told me 
that he believes that Mexico would have a deficit yet if 
Limantour had not been elected head of the Finance De- 
partment. During both of my interviews with Mr, Li- 
mantour, who is justly called the Alexander Hamilton of 
Mexico, he spoke with characteristic modesty of his work. 
It is only fair that the people in the financial district of New 
York be reminded again of what the Finance Minister has 
accomplished for his countrv- 

60 



After having a brilliant legal career he was appointed 
Under Secretary of Finance in 1892. The next year he suc- 
ceeded Matias Romero as full Secretary, an office which 
he has held with distinction and honor continuously since. 
Prior to 1867 the annual deficit of Mexico averaged about 
$7,000,000. From 1867 to 1893-94 the average was reducea 
to approximately $3,000,000. An idea of Minister Liman- 
tour's great work in his department may be had from the 
single fact that, in the budget which he made public less 
than two years after assuming the duties of full Secretary, 
he was able to announce the astounding fact that the Re- 
pubhc had a surplus of $1,113,046. That memorable year 
the revenues aggregated $43,951,699 and the expenditures 
$42,838,653. The surplus for that year was the first Mexi- 
co had enjoyed since the war of independence in 1810. In 
order to demonstrate clearly that that surplus was the be- 
ginning of a new era of sound and continuous prosperity for 
Mexico, I will present the following official figures : 
Cur. revs. Cur. expdts. 

in specie. in specie. 

,$43,951,699 $42,838,653 



Fiscal year 
1894-1895 . . 
1895- 1896. 
1 896- 1 897. 
I 897- I 898. 
I 898- I 899. 
1 899- 1 900. 
1900-1901. 
1901-1902. 
1902- 1903 
1903- 1 904. 



50,521,470 
51,500,629 
52,697,985 
60,139,213 
64,261,076 
62,998,805 
66,147,049 
76,023,416 
86,473,801 



45,070,123 
48,330,505 
51,815,286 
53,499,542 
57,944,688 
59,423,006 
63,081,514 
68,222,522 
76,381,643 



Surpluses. 

$1,113,046 
5,451,347 
3,170,124 
882,699 
6,639,671 
6,316,388 

3-575,799 

3,065,535 

7,800,894 

10,092,158 



It will be seen by a glance at these figures that the sur- 
pluses have been continuous since the memorable fiscal 
year 1894-95, although there were not increases each suc- 
cessive year. Still the figures disclose the striking fact 
also that during the ten years the surplus of the Republic 
expanded from $1,113,046 to $10,092,158. 

Many are the reforms which Secretary Limantour has 
introduced and carried out. One of the first was the abol- 
ishment of inter- State duties. When he took charge of 
the country's finances the exterior debt of 1888 amounted 
to £ 10,000,000 and called for 6 per cent interest ; that of 
1890 to £6,000,000, also for 6 per cent, interest, while the 

61 




62 



loan for the Tehuantepec railway of £270,000 paid 5 ptr 
cent, interest. The floating debt paid 3 per cent. Laws 
were passed providing for the issue of bonds to consolidate 
the interior debt at a material saving to the Government. 
The plans were entirely successful. 

Mr. Limantour next directed his attention to the still 
more important and difficult task of consolidating the 
exterior debt. An idea of the proportions of the task may 
be had from the fact that the interest on the public debt 
at that time amounted to more than 43 per cent, of the esti- 
mates for 1893-94. After negotiating with foreign bank- 
ers Mr. Limantour was able to consolidate the exterior debt 
at a saving to Mexico of about $17,519,000. 

Two years or more ago Mr. Limantour decided that it 
would be well to effect a good sized loan to complete public 
works, make various improvements and pay for obligations 
already contracted. Although several offers were made, 
President Diaz recommended the offer of Speyer & Com- 
pany as most advantageous. The loan was for $40,000,000, 
and Wall Street is familiar with the details. 

Mexico's next great financial stroke, under the leader- 
ship of President Diaz and Secretary Limantour, was the 
establishment last April of the new monetary system, by 
the terms of which the Mexican dollar is worth practically 
50 cents, on the basis of gold. I need not dwell on the ad- 
vantages of the new monetary system, for it is generally 
realized that it will do more for Mexico than any plan that 
has ever been brought out for the country's development. 
Already the results have greatly surpassed expectations. 

Mr. Limantour is still a young man, being only 49 
years old. If life and health are spared to him he will have 
an opportunity to make many more brilliant financial 
strokes for his country, but no more are needed to classify 
him as one of the greatest financiers in history. Mr. Liman- 
tour appreciates keenly the work that the New York News 
Bureau is doing for Mexico. 

Mexico's National Capital. 

ly/TEXICO CITY, Mex., Sept. 12.— Very much more 
-^' might be written regarding this city than I have 
either time or space for. As you know, it is the Capital of 
the Republic and the greatest centre of activity. It has 

63 





TWO GENERAL VIEWS OF PACHUCA. 



some points in common with our own Capital City and als.J 
differs from it in many respects. Mexico City has a popu- 
lation of 400,000, while Washington has only about 280,000.. 
Probably more foreign nations are represented here than in 
Washington. An American coming here for the first timo 
must be strongly impressed with the idea, however, that his 
fellow countrymen are well represented and not only that 
their ideas regarding the management of business and of a 
great city have been introduced, but also that a large num- 
ber of Americans are actually on the ground engaged in th;-. 
widely varying activities of the city. 

Mexico City is a thoroughly modern town in many re- 
spects. All of the principal streets are asphalted, the 
whole city is generously lighted by electricity, while it 
and a large group of suburbs are served by an excellent 
system of trolley cars. The trolley company has as its 
general manager, W. W. Wheatley, formerly of Newark, 
N. J. The streets are well kept and the principal thorough- 
fares present, particularly at night, a decidedly American 
appearance. 

There are some handsome and thoroughly modern struc- 
tures in the business district. One of the latest to be com- 
pleted is that of the Mutual Life Insurance Company. The 
architecture is much the same as that of the company's 
Nassau street building in New York. In the Mutual Life 
building here may be found the offices of the passenger 
traffic manager, freight traffic manager and industrial agent 
of the Mexican Central Railway Company. Adjoining thi-; 
building is the new post office building, which is nearing 
completion. It also is a handsome structure and consider- 
ably larger than its next door neighbor. Directly across 
the street from the two buildmes work was recently begun 
on the new National Theatre building, which is expected 
to be the finest structure of the kind in all Mexico. I am 
told that it will be the first building in the city to be built 
of marble. 

Several articles might be written regarding the real es- 
tate and building business in this centre. Land values, the 
prices of houses and rents have increased enormously, 
Ignacio Mariscal, Minister of Foreign Relations in Presi- 
dent Diaz's cabinet, who himself has a beautiful home in 
one of the most elaborate sections of the city, told me a few 

65 



days ago in the course of an interview in his home, that the 
prices of real estate in Mexico City have increased 250 per 
cent, and rents 300 per cent, during the last ten years. Fer- 
nando Pimentel, general manager of the Banco Central 
Mexicano, tells me that the prices of land and property in 
the city are still advancing, and that recently there have 
been transfers of property on Plateros and San Francisco 
streets (tw^o of the prominent streets in the city) at $400 a 
square meter, the highest price recorded for those particular 
thoroughfares. Another important new building which is 
going up soon is that which the insurance company, La 
Mexicana, will erect. 

Among the many improvements which are in progress 
in the city, and which will be important factors in its de- 
velopment, is the new water service, which is well in hand. 
Mr. Pimentel tells me that the new service will give the 
city a large surplus of water, and with a pressure that will 
be ample for regular use and also in case of fires. 

The suburbs of Mexico City are beautiful and easy of ac- 
cess, by reason of the excellent trolley service. In those 
sections many well-to-do and wealthy Mexicans and Amer- 
icans have summer homes. As about New York, very many 
people live in suburban homes throughout the year. Fred- 
eric R. Guernsey, editor of "The Mexican Herald," the 
principal American daily in the Republic of Mexico, lives all 
the year round in San Angel, ten miles out from the city, 
and one of the most charming of all the outlying towns. 
By no means all of the land in the vicinity of Mexico City, 
suitable for suburban homes, has been taken up. Still it is 
being bought up rapidly by individuals and companies. 
One of the most recent companies formed for this purpose 
is the City of Mexico New Additions Realty Company, 
organized under the laws of the State of Delaware with a 
capital of $3,000,000. The company has a very valuable 
concession from the Mexican Government and will pur- 
chase 2,507,124 square meters of land in a very promising 
suburban section. The colony will be named "Colonia 
Porfirio Diaz," in honor of the President. "Emeterio de la 
Garza, Jr., a prominent lawyer and member of Congress, is 
the controlling factor in the new company and he is en- 
tirely confident of its complete success. 

Mexico City is not pre-eminently a manufacturing city, 
and the products of its mills are largely consumed within 

^7 



its limits. The city has many large, elaborate and prosper- 
ous stores. Several of them would do credit to Fifth avenue 
or Broadway in New York. I said early in this letter that 
not a few nationalities are represented in the city. For- 
eigners figure prominently in its business. The Germans 
and French, for instance, own and operate most of the 
beautiful stores to which I have referred. 

The city does an immense banking business. The three 
principal institutions are the Banco Nacional, which, as 
the central bank, is a big affair, and it has besides branches 
in practically every city in the Republic. It is the Govern- 
ment dispository. This institution is about to increase its 
capital, but not to the extent that has been reported. I 
understand that only about $6,000,000 par value will ^e 
issued, but that as the subscription price will be in the 
neighborhood of 320 the bank will get nearly $20,000,000 
of fresh money. 

The Banco de London y Mexico, a branch of the Bank 
of London, is another strong and flourishing institution. 
It will be recalled that last Spring it increased its capital 
materially and that a large proportion of the new issue 
was taken by French capitalists. 

The Banco Central Mexicano, although one of the 
young financial institutions in the city, has grown very 
rapidly. This bank also increased its capital by $11,000,000 
last Spring and here again the French came in for a large 
share of the new stock. The Banco Central alone had a 
cash turnover in 1904 of $1,375,930,244, which gives some 
idea of the business that it is doing. Enrique C. Creel is 
the president and Fernando Pimentel the general manager. 
Recently interests closely identified with this bank bought 
the stock of the International Mortgage Bank of this city, 
owned for some time by H. B. Hollins & Company, of New- 
York. It is rumored that it is proposed to consolidate this 
bank with the Banco de Agricola, also a mortgage bank. 

A point in which Mexico City differs from Washington 
is that it is more of a railroad centre, at least a terminus 
for a greater number of railroads. As I have stated in 
a previous letter, here is the southern terminus of the mam 
lines of both the Mexican Central and the National Rail- 
road of Mexico. The Cuernavaca division of the former 
railroad starts here, while the company runs through trains 

69 



fiom Mexico City over both the Guadalajara and the Tam- 
pico divisions. Less important divisions, such as the 
Pachuca and Panuco, have their southern terminus here, or 
at least direct connections with the city. 

The National Railroad has branches from this city to 
Toluca and several other important points. Then the In- 
teroceanic Railw^ay, which is a part of the National system, 
begins in Mexico City and runs to Vera Cruz, with branches 
to various good sized centres. On its main line between 
here and Vera Cruz the Interoceanic has established a 
fast night train, which connects with the steamers at the 
latter point. The company has an excellent day train, 
which enables its passengers to view the beautiful scenery, 
particularly in the vicinity of Puebla and Jalapa. 

From what I have jotted down hurriedly in this letter 
I think it is plainly to be seen that Mexico City is an im- 
portant factor in the business of the railroads in the Re- 
public. I have not mentioned the tourist business, which 
is rapidly increasing. The hotels of the city have been 
busy all Summer and it is evident that this centre will soon 
become a summer resort for people in the Southern States. 
I can only say in this connection that the air is delightful 
and that every evening I have worn a light overcoat and 
slept under one or more blankets at night. 

From Mexico City to Cuernavaca. 

r^ UERNAVACA, Sept. 14. — It is only a few years ago 
that the Mexican Central acquired the Cuernavaca 
& Pacific Railway and made it a division of the system, 
but already it promises to be a good investment. The road 
runs from the City of Mexico south 181 miles to Balsas. 
The route is over mountains 10,000 feet high at one point 
and the scenery much of the way is»regarded by many as 
the best in the Republic. 

As the train leaves the city, it passes through, or near, 
several of the numerous suburban towns to which I re- 
ferred in a previous letter. At Santo Julia, formerl}^ a 
large hacienda, a flourishing suburb is being developed, 
and within a few years the place will be an important one 
for the railroad. A little further on is the Morales flour 
mill, a large affair which should be a factor in the traffic 

7T 



of the Mexican Central. The next most miportant station 
is Tacubaya. The town has a population of about 20,000 
and is the chief suburb of Mexico City. There wealthy 
men from the meircpolis have built magnificent houses 
and gardens as summer resorts. Not far from Tacubaya 
and connected with the Cuernavaea division of the Mexi- 
can Central by a branch line, are the Valdes and Santo 
Domingo flour mills. 

Near, the station Olivar are several cotton and paper 
mills. At San Geronimo large quantities of fruit, par- 
ticularly strawberries, are grown. The town is well sup- 
plied with water for irrigation. Contreras, a little further 
up the mountain, is said to have the oldest cotton goods 
factory in the Valley of Mexico. Considerable fruit is 
grown in the vicinitj/- of that town also. Still further up 
the mountain the road enters an excellent timber district, 
and large quantities of wood and not a little timber may 
be seen stored near the railroad tracks at the various sta- 
tions. 

After reaching La Cima, with an elevation of 10,000 feet, 
the road descends rapidly to this fine old city Cuernavaea, 
situated in a wonderfully fertile valley. Cuernavaea has a 
population of about i6,GOO and is a pleasure and health re- 
sort, not only for tourists, but for the wealthy people of 
Mexico Cit3A. The elevation is more than 2,000 feet lower 
than that of Mexico City and the air considerably softer. 
Consequently the passenger traffic between the two cities 
is large. I was pleased to note that when I came over to- 
day there were fully twice as many first class passengers 
as there were when I came here a little more than a year 
ago. 

H. L. Hall, formerly of Boston, owns and runs the 
Hotel Morelos, the principal hotel in Cuernavaea. It is a 
quaint old building, but Mr. Hall has put into it practic- 
ally all the conveniences found in a first class hostelry in 
the States. Additional evidence of the marked increase in 
the railroad company's traffic to this point is found in the 
fact that since I was here last year Mr. Hall has been com- 
pelled to double the capacity of his place and now he is 
planning to add still another story to his already large 
building. People from Mexico City used to come to Cuer- 
navaea when they were obliged to travel over the moun- 

7?> 



tains in diligencias, or stage coaches, and before the city 
had a great hotel like the Morelos, but now with the com- 
fort of this place, the charming air of Cuernavaca, and the 
magnificent scenery, both on the way and all about the city 
for miles in every direction, it seems certain that the pas- 
senger traffic of the Mexican Central to this point must 
double again soon. 

Cuernavaca is the capital of the State of Morelos, which 
is wonderfully productive and has still greater possibilities. 
There are rich mines, a few of which are being operated, 
and still others that haven't been scratched. The soil in 
the valleys is extremely fertile, and a few miles beyond 
here are large sugar plantations, which give the railroad 
company profitable traffic. Still, the best informed Ameri- 
can in this city, with whom I have had several talks, tells 
me that the possibilities of the State agriculturally are 
far greater than are generally realized. 

From Balsas, the present southern terminus of the 
Cuernavaca division, the Mexican Central has projected 
lines to Acapulco and to Sihuatanejo, both on the Pacific 
Coast. The development of the territory along the exist- 
ing line and the construction of the proposed new lines 
will result in a large additional amount of traffic. 

From Mexico City to Laredo. 

T AREDO, Tex., Sept. i8.— This town, on the border be- 
tween Texas and Mexico, is the northern terminus of 
the main line of the National Railroad Company of Mex- 
ico. The distance from the City of Mexico to this point is 
802 miles, or a "little over 400 miles less than by any other 
rail route from the Capital City to the border. The road as 
originally built was narrow gauge, but after the new com- 
pany was formed early in 1902 the work of standardizing 
the gauge was taken up and completed in the Fall of the 
following year. The entire line was opened for service as 
a standard gauge road on Nov. 8, 1903. As I said, this is 
the main line of the National system, but the new company 
operates about 3,500 miles of road all told. In previous 
letters I have spoken in detail of the "Mexican Interna- 
tional, which runs from Eagle Pass on the Texas border 
to Durango, a distance of about 540 miles, and of the In- 

75 





A^.. A 



|j|jp|pj^^MHP|^g|J|: ; 



.A 







TWO VIEWS OF SAN LUIS POTOSI. 



teroceanic Railway, the main line of which extends from 
Mexico City to Vera Cruz, for many years the most im- 
portant Mexican port on the Gnlf of Mexico. The main 
line of the Interoceanic road is about 270 miles long. 

The main line is the best paying part of the National 
system, as the monthly statements of gross and net earn- 
ings show. The traffic officials make a special effort for 
international traffic, particularly passenger, because they 
are able to offer the advantages of a short route to St. 
Louis, the Central West and even the far eastern and 
southern States. I believe that if one is able to make all 
the connections, it is possible to go from Mexico City, via 
the National route, to New York city in four days and 14 
hours. The National company makes a specialty of its 
through sleeping car service to St. Louis, Kansas City and 
other points in the Southwest. This class of traffic has 
been very satisfactory. 

Within the last few weeks both the National and the 
Mexican Central have given considerable attention to se- 
curing the student business, which has become an item 
of importance in the passenger traffic of both roads at this 
season of the year and late in June and early in July. The 
number of Americans with families in Mexico is increas- 
ing rapidly and many of them send their children back to 
the States for high school, college and technical training. 
Many Mexicans are also sending their sons and daughters, 
particularly the former, to be educated in our institutions 
of learning. Another fact that will contribute appreciably 
to the passenger business of the railroads of Mexico during 
the next few days will be the celebration of Independence 
Day and the attending feasts. The railroads running to 
MexicO' City have offered special rates for these occasions. 

But to speak more directly regarding the main line of 
the National. It starts in Mexico City from the Colonia 
Station, situated at the beginning of the Paseo del Re- 
forma, the beautiful boulevard of the city. While the 
route at the outset is not through large towns or cities, it 
is through a very productive agricultural section, which 
yields the company a large amount of local traffic. 

Among some of the larger places which should be men- 
tioned is Queretaro, 160 miles north of Mexico City, which 
has cigarette, soap and match factories and a brick plant. 

7; 



In that town Emperor Maximilian and his generals were 
executed. San Miguel is in the heart of a rich agricultural 
district, the principal products being corn, beans and wheat. 
Mantillas and zerapes are manufactured in that town. At 
San Felipe, a town of 10,000 inhabitants, just south of San 
Luis Potosi, a large amount of pottery is manufactured. 

San Luis Potosi, which I have mentioned in previous 
letters, is the largest and most important city on the south- 
ern half of the main line. The city has a population of 
over 60,000 ; one of the largest smelters in the Republic 
is located there, while the general business of the place is 
big. The surrounding valley is fertile, while the moun- 
tains bordering the valley have rich mineral deposits. 
Large quantities of fruit and eggs are sold in the market. 
There are big tracts of valuable lands for sale and I am 
told that there are excellent opportunities for investments. 

Passing northward from San Luis Potosi, we come in 
due time to Saltillo where connection is made with the 
Coahuila & Zacatecas Railway running southwest to Con- 
ception del Oro, and with the Coahuila & Pacific Railway, 
which the Mexican Central Railway Company bought re- 
cently. Above Satillo, the National runs through fertile 
fields and gardens. 

The next big city is Monterey, with a population of 
about 75,000, and it is the most important city in northern 
Mexico. It is the capital of the State of Nueyo Leon and 
the centre of a wealthy mining district, and is notable also 
for its manufacturing industries. It will be recalled that 
in a previous letter I gave considerable data regarding the 
iron and steel plant located in Monterey. About three 
miles distant, and connected by a tram line, are the famous 
Topo Chico Springs, which are annually visited by many 
tourists and health seekers, and from which is gotten the 
principal mineral water in the Republic. "The Monterey 
News" is the second American daily newspaper in the Re- 
public, "The Mexican Herald" being first. Recently the 
National opened an important branch line from Monterey 
to Matamoras, on the Gulf of Mexico. It is expected that 
this line will add materially to the company's traffic. 

Between Monterey and Laredo there are no large towns 
or cities, but at Villaldama a branch runs to the Guadalupe 
mines. The traffic of the National system is steadily in- 

■78 



creasing, the gross earnings for August were $100,000 
larger than for the corresponding month of 1904. Last 
year when I went over the main line of the National there 
was still left a considerable number of the short ties in 
use when the road was narrow gauge, but now most of 
them have been replaced, with standard length ties. All 
the lines of the company are being put in good shape and 
President Brown and his associates are confident of ma- 
terial increases to both gross and net earnings this year. 

Some Impressions of Mexico. 

/CHICAGO, Sept. 23. — While reviewing in my mind the 
hastily prepared, and consequently imperfect, letters 
which I have sent regarding the business that is being done 
along the lines of the principal railroads in Mexico, it has 
occurred to me that it might be well to summarize briefly a 
few of the impressions which I am sure every thoughtful 
and sympathetic student of Mexico receives upon seeing the 
country. I make no claim for originality for the ideas that I 
shall jot down, for as I have said, they must occur to every- 
one visiting Mexico who approaches it from the right 
viewpoint. Here are a few : 

I. — Under the administration of President Diaz the peo- 
ple have not only enjoyed the benefits of peace, but have 
also been brought to realize that their country can prosper 
only through a continuance of the same conditions of peace 
and order that now exist. The party now in power, which 
may roughly be termed the financial party, is so strong 
and has such large interests at stake that, in the event of 
any attempt of the military faction to exercise authority 
when President Diaz is no longer the Chief Executive, ir 
is believed its leaders will be able to demonstrate the great 
danger of attempting to change the form of government. 

2. — Minister of Finance Limantour, even during the 
period that the currency of Mexico was fluctuating most 
widely, brought the finances of the country out of the 
rut of deficits in which they had been for about 80 years 
up to where the statement for the fiscal year 1904 showed 
a surplus in excess of $10,000,000. 

3. — Not only has he accomplished this great feat but he 
has also given Mexico a stable monetary S5'Stem which is in 
successful operation. 

79 




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Pi 

H 

P 
O 

o 

w 
d 

1:3 
o 



4-— The banks and other financial institutions of the 
Republic are on a sound basis and noteworthily prosper- 
ous. The growth of the country and the still further marked 
development expected are indicated by the material in- 
creases in capital recently made, and soon to be made, by 
the three largest banks in Mexico City. 

5. — The rains this season have been abundant and the 
agricultural conditions and outlook in Mexico are highly 
gratifying. While the wheat crop was somewhat below 
the average in certain localities it was good in others. The 
State of Chihuahua alone raised 1,120,000 bushels, or double 
the amount raised last year. The largest cotton crop ever 
gathered in Mexico is confidentlv expected, and practically 
assured. There is so much moisture in the principal cotton- 
growing district that a good crop is assured for next year, 
even if the rainfall should be comparatively light. Corn 
promises exceedingly^ well. In the southern sections the 
crop is already matured. If there are no early frosts the 
late planted in the northern sections will yield a good crop. 
Other crops are very satisfactory. 

Z' 6. — The principal railroads of Mexico are in good shape. 
It is specially noteworthy that during the period of the 
greatest depression in the currency of the country, these 
corporations were not only able to keep up their properties; - 
and to meet their obligations, but also developed their prop:^ 
erties and added to them very materially. The Mexican 
Central, for instance, acquired the Monterey & Mexican. _ 
Gulf Railroad, the Cuernavaca & Pacific, the Coahuila & 
Pacific, the narrow gauge line of the Mexican NMional 
Construction Company, which is being utilized ijg. the con- 
struction of the new Pacific Coast line to- Ma^izanillo, alst) 
other shorter lines. The system now embrac'es.3,^00 miles 
instead of 1,800, when President RobinsoM assumed the 
duties of his office about 12 years ago. The National "Rail- 
road Company of Mexico*has been formed, contr9l o'f the 
Mexican National, Mexican Internationa! and the Inter- 
oceanic lines acquired by Spey.er &. Company and a pra,e- 
tically controlling mterest sold bv that firm to the Mexican 
Government. During the period of depression th^ prop- 
erties embraced in both systems were wonderfully improved 
until now, as 1 have said,. they are in very good shape. The 
Mexican Central, for instance, has 70 and 75-pound rails 

81 



On a large part of its mileage, and a good proportion of the 
main line is rock ballasted. The stations at the principal 
centres are handsome brick and stone structures and are 
considerably better than those seen on some of the trunk 
lines in the States. The rolling stock is in good condition. 

7. — The principal railroads of Mexico would be paying 
substantial dividends today except for the big depression 
in the currency of the countfy during recent years. When 
President Robinson and his associates took hold of the 
Mexican Central the Mexican dollar was worth nearly 80 
cents on the basis of gold. They have seen it go below 
40 cents. Now that the value is fixed at approximately 
50 cents they will be able to make, not only large groos 
earnings, but also very much larger net returns, as 40 per 
cent, of the operating expenses have been payable in gold, 
although only a widely fluctuating silver dollar was earned. 

8. — The adoption of the new currency system has result- 
ed already in the influx of a large amount of foreign capital 
and very much larger amounts are sure to come. 

9. — President Diaz, Vice-President Corral, Minister of 
Finance Limantour, Enrique C. Creel, A. A. Robinson, 
president of the Mexican Central; E. N. Brown, president 
of the National Railroad Company of Mexico ; Frederic R. 
Guernsey, editor of "The Mexican Herald," and many 
others familiar with conditions in Mexico, and who are in a 
position to observe closely, are altogether confident that 
Mexico is on the eve of a big development. 

10. — The towns and cities and business of the country 
are growing rapidly. Torreon, for instance, one of .the 
youngest cities in the Republic, really only a few years 
old, and with a population of not more than 15,000, is de- 
■^'oloping very rapidly and is giving the Mexican Central 
$4,000,000 of traffic a year. The earnings of the railroads 
are increasing materially. The Mexican Central gross for 
August was $250,000 and the National Railroad $100,000 
larger than for the corresponding month last year. 

II. — ^The mines of the country are by no means worked 
out, many of them have scarcely been scratched. Prospec- 
tive investors in mining propositions, should, however, 
exercise great care in their selections of property. 

12. — The agricultural possibilities of the country are 
beyond calculation. All that is needed is greater irrigation 

83 



facilities. These are lacing increased rapidly. Governor 
Creel, of the State of Chihuahua, is building a dam on one 
of his properties that will furnish water for the irrigation 
of 6,000 acres of new land. The owners of another hacienda 
in the same State are planning for a dam capable of furnish- 
ing water for 80,000 acres. General Terrazas is planning a 
series of dams on his haciendas, one of which will impound 
water sufficient for 200,000 acres. 

13. — President Diaz, Minister of Finance Limantour, 
and other associates of the Chief Executive and likewise 
governors of all the States throughout the Republic, will 
encourage in every legitimate way, the investment of for- 
eign capital in enterprises in Mexico. 

14. — Finally, it seems altogether certain that holders of 
good Mexican securities of all kinds, particularly railroad 
securities, should hold them for much higher prices, as they 
should advance very materially within the next few years. 




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